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HAND-BOOK 



._)OF( 



X^ MISSOL^Tn^I. % 



^" 



THE BLUE GRASS REGION OF NORTH iniSSOURI. 





LoomlB & Snively's Coal Mines at Bevlar, Five Miles West of Macon. 



MACON, MO. 
TiMKs Steam Pkinting House, 

1*W. 



COPYKIGHT BY TIIBO. U.\KY, MACUN, MO. 






Secretary Macon B. & L. Ass'n, Capital Stock, $150,000. 



Secretary Macon Board of Trade. 



THE]0- a^^^^Tzir, 



Insura^iice, I^e&il Esta^te ^ Loeii] A^cnt, 

MACON, MISSOURI. 

Special Examiner and Correspondent of the Equitable Mortgage Co., Kansas City, Mo. 



AGENT 



CERMANIA INSURANCE CO., N. Y. 
CONNECTICUT INSURANCE CO., Hartford. 
TRADERS INSURANCE CO., Chicago. 
NORTHERN ASSURANCE CO. of London. 



PEOPLES INSURANCE COMPANY, N. H. 
QUEEN INSURANCE CO. of Liverpool. 
AMERICAN CENTRAL INS. CO., St. Louis. 
COMMERCIAL UNION INSURANCE CO. 



ANGLO-NEVADA INSURANCE CO. 



Macon Foundry and Machine Works, 

Established in I 880 by F. PALFREY. 



Proprietor and 
in Mechanical 




P^y ^y* 


\ 


Capital Invested, 








i 




Manufacture all classes of 

Mill Machinery, 

Outfits, The Celebrated 

Shelving^ 


ll 


%. 


w 



Practical Expert 
Science. 

$20,000.00. 



Coal Mining Machinery, 

Steam Power Threshing 

Patten's Adjustable Store 

etc., etc. 

The Machine Department embraces two buildings 22x50 feet, three stories high, and the Foundry is 
44x50 feet. The entire works are equipped with the most approved modern machinery and apparatus, are 

• • • 

Ughted with gaJr,' have a complete telephone system and water works of their own, are driven to full capacity, 
and would be creditable to a large city. 



HOW AND WHY MISSOURI HAS BEEN OVERLOOKED BY IMMIGRANTS AND INVESTORS. 



•»Js«C*tf-*- 



IN presentiiij; to tlie homc-scvker and investor this little Hand- 
Book. doscrijitive of Noithciistcrn Missnuri and Maton 
County, it is done with full knowledge of tlic fact that the 
ro(>utati()n of this great State— within itself an Empire — 
lias k-en grossly niisreprcsentcd and maligned and very seriously 
damaged, in the estimation of both Eastern and Western people, 
who have never visited the State, tested the temper of its lu.spi- 
alilv, or become acquainted with the manners and euslomsof its 
■eople, a large portion of whom came from the Eastern and Nor- 
hcrn States, the Provinces and EuroiK?. and represent every shade 
iif religion and polities. Missuuri just now ofTers the best oppor- 
tunity to tiio pro8|)ective land buyer, either for settlement or 
sjictiilation. to 1)0 found in the Union. Both wild and imj)roved 
lands are much cheai^T than similar lands in the adjoining terri- 
tory of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois ; and vastly cheaper 
than in the older Eastern States. Of course there is a reason for 
the low prii-e of .Missouri lands, as well iis for the comjiaratively 
light immigration to the State. The principal reason, as above 
stated, is the had name given the State by sonic of its own and the 
leading journals of other States, for purely political purpo.ses, 
thereby creating a prejudice against the State among jK-ople who 
ba.sed their o|iinions on what they said. Still another cause for 
low land values in Missouri has been the e.xistence of vast tracts 
of (iiivernmeut land on tiie smooth, level iirairies of Kansas, 
Nebraska and other neighboring States, where "free homesteads" 
were offered to the million for simply the cost of settlement In 
the same States were millions of acres of Indian trust lands sold 
ill small tracts to actual settlers at *l.'.i5 jwr acre. 

In these States, too, were other nnllionsof acres of smooth, 
vel land, j)arceled out in magnirieent tracts to the great land- 
ant railways, which ]>ut them on the market at low prices and 
iilieral terms to settlers of nicderatc means, thousands of wiiom 
were induced by brilhunt ndvcrtiseiiients of the country, to buy 
and settle niion these lands. The.se railwa\s were doubly inter- 
rstcd in immigration. The sale of the lands which cost theiu 
nothing, alone made them rich. The transi>ortation of house- 
hold gixxis, im|ilemcnts, live stock and the families of the purch- 
asers. afToriled the best reason why the roads should carry them 
by Mitfsouri and as far West as iwssible. Once settled in the Far 
West, the home-builders were at the mercy of the roads, which 
transporte<l everything they lirought in and all they might have 
to ship out. Of course these land-grant roads s|)eut millions in 
advertising their newly acrpiin-d territory. They could afford to 
do it and did it well, and greatly to the injurv of Missouri, which 
also furni.s|ied her full (pioia of homesteaders and land-buyers. 
Huudretis of tliousands of Northern and P^astern immigrants 
were carried across Missouri in the night to prevent observation 
of the country. I'nder such railway intlueiice, the treeless plains 
were settled, towns were built. newspa|)ers were foundeil and a 
comparatively ariil country settle<l and develo|>o<l by Eastern peo- 
ple an<l Eastern capital, largely at the CTiiense of Missouri. .Mean- 
lime tlie vilest misrepresentations of Missouri and Iter people and 
institutions were industriously tloated. .Ml these things had the 
desired effect and Missouri, for the time, stood still. Little ini 
migration came into the State. Hut little land changed hands, 
and prici'S were at a stand-still. Mis.souri was » )>order State 



during the war, and natur.illy many rough characters gathered on 
its western bonier, and high crimes were frc(picnt. As a result, 
but few settlers came to the State, but the few that came made a 
thorough examination of the country and its resources, and nearly 
all of them l>ecame purchasers and settlers. They vTcre men of 
character and stamina, and have done much to dissipate the 
popular prejudice against the country. The result is seen in 
rapidly increiising immigration and the liberal investment of out- 
side capital in Missouri lands, mines and industries. .\ great 
change is coming over the St ite and the conditions are fast chang- 
ing throughout the entire West. Immigration, railway construc- 
tion and town building are nearly at a stand-still in the Newer 
West. The railways are doing little advertising and thousands 
who were lured into sottlenient on the |dains are no\r coming to 
Missouri for homes and fortune. The bandits, who plie<l their 
criminal vocation along the western border of the State, have 
been broken uji, killed or dis|)ersed by the rigorou.s execution of 
Missouri justice, and a more law-abiding, |ieaceful and orderly 
poi)ulation may not Ikj found Ix'tween the two oceans. The laws 
against carrying concealetl weajMns are rigidly enforcetl, the ob- 
servance of the Sabbath is universal, and ]ieace, sobriety and good 
orrler are everywhere observed. Time was when the po|)ular fancy 
pictured the typical Missourian, with revolver and knife in his 
belt, intent on murder and |iliinder, and the whole country a 
scene of lawlessness and disorder. Even during the dark days of 
the civil war, such a picture of local life would have seemed a 
wicked distortion. The great iiii'ss of Missnurians, whether native 
or adopted, are, and always have Ijeen, people of character, high 
ideals and aims, and upright, honorable lives. Still, for sinister 
jiurposes, the verv op)K)site condition of things has been |)ublif hed 
to the world, and other and less fertile and desirable regions have 
reaped what benefit could 1x5 derived from abuse of this noble 
commonwealth. If Missouri has advanced slowly through all 
these years of trial, she has advanced si'helv. Lands have lK?eu 
cheap and are still cheap by comparison with any other good 
country. 

Northeast Missouri has never been advertised until recently, 
and this Iland-Hook is the tirst substantial nu)venieiit of Ma<ou 
County in that direction. And yet this county has 30,000 people 
and three trunk railways, showing clearly that if progress has 
l»eeu slow, it has at least been healthful, steiuly and sure. Mis- 
souri has never Ikjcu " Iwomed," but this year is witnessing a 
strong, substantial immigration, and t350,000 will lie 8|ient in 
advertising its resourcos among the capitalists aiul liome-^H'kers 
of the Eiisi and North. It is needless to add that bind vah.es 
must and will advance rapidly. Prices have |>erceptibly advamv*! 
in the past six months, and it is safe to a.ssunie that land values 
generally will duuble within the next two or three years. Kven 
then lauds will be cheH|)er than in any of the neighboring States 
to the east, north and west. If the reader is open to conviction, 
let him come and survey the siti ation, and be convinced that |)re- 
judice and the other causes nanietl have kept Missouri at a stand- 
still for these many years, and that is why it is to-<iay the safest 
and tiest country for settlement and investment on the green 
earth. Its opportunity has come, and the land is pregnant with 
jironiise. 



CopTTighud. IKS. 



MACON COUNTY 



The Beautiful Blue Grass Region of 

NORTHERN MISSOURI, 



A Royal Heritage for the Immigrant and 

Investor; not on the Treeless and 

Rainless Plains but in the midst 

of Noble Forests, Crainflelds, 

Orchards, Vineyards and 

Pleasant Homes. 

A GRAPHIC REVIEW OF 

MACON COUNTY, 

The Centre of the Richest Coal Fields In 

the West. A Royal Stock Country. 

Peerless Meadows and Pastures. 

Almost Perennial Grazing In 

the Finest Blue Grass 

Fields of the Continent. 



THE BANNER FRUIT COI NTRY. 



Toe Cheapest Lands in the Vest. Cheaper than Free 

Homesteads. The Land of Cheap Living, Plenty, 

Opportunity, Oreat Poseibilitits, Charming 

Landscape and Splendid Destiny. 



A FAMIUAB TALK WITH THE READER 

Abont Land Valnes, Schools, Chnrohes, Society, Bailwaye, 

Markets, Trade, Agricaltore, Stock Raising, The 

Coal Fields, Water and Timber Snpply, 

Climate and Growing Towns of 

A CHARMING COU.NTRY I'XDER GENIAL 
SEPTEMBER SKIES. 

A splendid coantry, with a great de.stiny, is this 
beaatifnl 

NOBTHEASTEBN MI880CEI, 

whose fortunate location, charming landscape, 
equable climate, versatile and );enerous soils, 
fruitful orchards and vineyards, matclUess 
grasses, bountiful grain fields, rich coal measures, 
noble forests, pure and abundant waters and 
cheap lands, offer to the ca|iitalist and immi- 
grant one of the most inviting fields for settle- 
ment to be found between the two oceans. 

In the very heart of the beautiful " Blue Grass 
Region" of this grand division of Missouri is 

MACON COUNTY, 

the subject of this Hnnd-Book, and one of the 
largest and most productive counties in the State. 
It has an area of 828 square miles, is nearly as 
large as the State of Rhode Island, and for 
grandeur and variety of resources, is excelled by 
few counties in this or any other Western State. 
Macon County has 

AM ADMUtABLE LOCATION 

on the "Oreat Divide" between the Mississippi 



and Missouri riverB, 800 feet above tide-water, 
fifty miles south of Iowa, sixty miles west of the 
Mississippi, l.TO miles east of Kansas City and 
22."> miles north of the northern border of 
Arkansas. It lies too 

IN THE BIOHT LATITUDE, 

within the parallels of Kansas City, Cincinnati 
and Washington, full in the pathway of trans- 
continental travel and transportation, and within 

THE PBODUCTIVE MIDDLE BELT 

of the Union, a strip of country lying between 
the latitudes of Richmond and Boston, not ex- 
ceeding 4;'jO miles in width, reaching from ocean 
to ocean, and within which may be found all the 
great commercial, financial and railway cities; 
90 per cent, of the manufactnring industries; 80 



other wild tribes who fonnd in these forests, 
streams and prairies a wealth of fish, water-fowl 
and nobler game that made of this " Great Di- 
vide," even in later years, 

A huntsman's pabadise. 
Deer, elk, antelope, wolf, bear, fox, beaver, otter, 
mink, muskrat. wild turkey, geese and duck, the 
white pelican, white and gray swan, sand-hill 
crane, blue heron, grouse, partridge, and no end 
of minor birds and game, were almost as thick 
as leaves in Valambrosia. The rivers and creeks 
were abundant in fish and the forests, prairies 
and ravines yielded wild grapes, plnms, cherries 
and other fruits in profusion. Antedating the 
wild Northern tribes that dominated this beauti- 
ful region in the early years of the century, away 




PUBLIC SCBOOL-UOUSE, MACON. 



per cent, of the great dairy and fruit interests; 
the strongest agriculture, the densest, strongest 
and most cosmopolitan population, all the great 
universities, the most advanced school sys- 
tems and the highest average of health known 
to the continent. Scarcely less significant is the 
location of the county in the finest portion of 
the great central State of the Union, which, by 
virtue of its position and splendid aggregation 
of resonrces, is bound to the industrial, commer- 
cial, political and material life of the country by 
the strongest ties, and must forever feel the 
(juickening of its best energies from every throb 
of the national heart. Up to 1827, Macon County 
was 

A BEAUTIFUL WILDEBNE8S 

of forest, wild flowers and wild grasses, inhabit- 
ed or dominated by the Sac and Fox, Sioax and 



back, hundreds, and possibly thousands of years, 

THE MOtTND BUILDEUR. 

a pre-historic and more kindly, peaceful and do 
mestic people than their dusky savage succes 
sors, lived and loved in Macon County, alont; 
whose principal streams they have left traces of 
their Aztec origin or kinship, in mounds, pot- 
tery and rude articles of husbandry. The 

PIONEEBS or CIVILIZATION, 

the men of nerve and heroic endurance, of on- 
faltering faith and royal working gifts — the 
founders of home and workshop and farm the 
men of more than Spartan courage, who came 
with axe and ride to subdue a howling wilderness 
to highest human uses, found their way into these 
wilds from 1827 to 18.S3. James Loe and family 
made the first settlement in 1827, on what is now 
known as the Joseph M. Hammett farm, a few 



MACON COUNTY, MISSDIRI. 



iiiiltiH ituutli uf Cnllaii. In IH'.".), Mr. Kowlnnd, a 
fnniuux hunter, Bettled wliore Ontrfvillo wnit 
aftorwnrdit laid out, and liiniKclf and l>r<>i)i(>r made 
Iho first filingH on government land in that part 
of the county. William Morrow nettled on what 
it) now known n» the " I'orrin " farm, where he 
Htarled the well known " Morrow Hcttlement " in 
1M81. He built the flmt );■'>■** ■■>>!' ""'^ opened 
the ftrxt lilarkiimith Hluip in the county. The 
** Hlackwelt Settlement" wai* founded the r*nnie 
year by William Hlaokwell, Nathan Riohardrtun 
and John Walker, on (irand I'rairie Home five 
miUw north of Macon, Other Hettlenientn fol- 
lowed in rapid nucceHHion, and in 18.S(> and '87 
the population numbered several hundred, and 
the General AxKembly formally ori^anized the 



wanting in the ru((K''d grandeur of the nioun- 
lainM. it in yet rich in the more 

l-KirKri'I. I'ANTOBAL rilAUMH 

of a landHcape whoHo nnmberleHH lineM of (;race 
and beauty ohalleuKo adequate description. 
These f^rand billowy prairies, sweet pastoral 
valleys, intervening woodlands interspersed with 
green grassy glades and intervals, and meandered 
by clear rapid streams, with occasional pictur- 
esque bluffs and wild wooded glens and ravines, 
lend an inexpressible charm to a landscape 
which gives no sense of bleakness, weariness or 
monotony, in which there is nothing abstract or 
startling, but everywhere unity and harmony in 
endless variety. Forty per cent, of the county is 
covered with a luxuriant growth of native timber 



As heretofore noted, about .'100 square miles of 
the county is well wooded with oak, ash, elm, 
hickory, hackberry, mulberry, honey loonal, 
sycamore, linden, black walnut, maple, white 
birch, cherry, red bud, Cottonwood and kindred 
varieties of both lowland and upland growth. 
Black walnut, oak and cottonw<K>d lumber and 
timber for railway and manufacturing uses are 
still among the principal articles of export, and 
time was when they led all other |>rodnctx of the 
county in value. The county is well supplied 
with 

Btnt-DINO HTONKfl, 

the blue and gray limestones found in large 
finely stratified deposits, in nearly all parts of the 
county, ranking with the very best building 




OintBKBI.A.HD PBBHBTTBBIAM UUUMUH. MACON. 



CATHol.K furuill, MAIKS. 



eounty, naming it in honor of Hon. Nathaniel 
Macon, a soldier of the revolution, and later a 
distinguished representative and senator in the 
American Congress from Carolina. In the sum- 
mer of 1K37 the county seat was formally located 
at BIiM>mington, which remained the capital until 
18C3, when, by act of the General .\sseinbly, the 
City of Macon was made the permanent seat of 
Jtuttice. The Iravdrr iiiiiv look in vain for a 
oonntry whose 

TOfMMOiAI'IIK AI. < IliUMH 

exceed thoae of Macon County, which, from end 
to end is a region of marvelous, bewildering 
beauty, whose impri>sscan never be e(Tac(>d from 
the memory of the visitor. The Kastern tourist 
is touched with a sense of its scenio charms the 
moment he crosses the border, and the spell is 
never broken until he passes into the region of 
the common place beyond. If the country be 



and the remaining sixty per cent, is mainly high 
rolling prairie. .About twelve per cent, of the 
coonty is valley and bottom land. Macon has 

THB BBHT WATBB SrrPLT 

of any county in Northern Missouri. The Grand 
Chariton, a river of splendid volume, with the 
Kast, Middle, Muscle, North and South Forks, 
Halt River, I<ong Branch, Big Brush, Bear, 
Turkey, Narrows, Winn, Little Turkey, Hoosier, 
Walnut. White Oak, Painter, Richland, Pearl, 
Hilver, Clear, Spring and Rock Creeks, scores of 
spring brooks, hundreds of clear cold springs 
with living wells everywhere easily and cheaply 
excavated at a depth of fifteen to fifty feel, and 
hundreds of artificial ponds, give all portions of 
this favored county an ample supply of pure 
wholesome hard and soft water. Maoon Coonty 
has 

AN AtlMIBABLB TIIIBBB St-PPLT. 



Stones in the State. Sandstones are also found 
at several points, but are not extensively quarried 
on account of the superior quality of the lime- 
stones. Few counties in Missouri are so rich in 

MINKBAL BEHOrBCBH 

as Maoon, whose coal measures are among the 
finest in the entire list of bituminous C(mI fields 
in the country. Prof. McGeo, a well known 
geologist connected with the I'nited States geo- 
logical survey, after a recent examination of 

THB MAI-ON OOONTT COAL riBI.DS 

says, "they are in the centre of the finest bitum- 
inous coal basin between the Mississippi river 
and the Rocky Mountains." The wealth of these 
Maoon coal measures is almost incalculable. 

POUB HrNDBKO 8<ll'ABB MILBS, 

or about one half of this great county, is known 
to be underlaid with cool, which is found out- 
cropping along many of the streams, gulches and 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



ravines. Within most of this splendid area there 
are 

THBEE WELL DEFINED COAL VEINS, 

the superficial vein, ranging from ten to eighteen 
inches in thickness; the second vein which lies 
on a lower level averaging about twenty-six 
inches and the third or lowest vein yet developed, 
running from three to six feet in thickness. AU 
of these veins are near enough to the surface to 
be found in frequent outcroppings along the 
streams and deeper ravines. Near College Mound, 
in the south part of the county, on a small tribu- 
tary of the Chariton, an outcropping of the lower 
stratum in the bed of the creek, 
discloses a vein 

EIGHT FEET THICK 

of as clean bituminous coal as a 
miner ever opened. At Bevier, 
where about 700 miners are em- 
ployed in the six mines now in 
operation, the lower stratum runs 
from four to five feet in thick- 
ness. At Lingo, in the west part 
of the county and at Emerson in 
the southern part, the working 
veins average four feet in thick- 
ness. East of Macon, less than 
two miles, is a three foot vein of 
remarkable clearness and purity, 
and near the western border of 
the city, a fine quality of 

COKING COAL 

has recently been discovered, and 
with developments now in pro- 
gress by St. Joseph and Topeka 
capitalists will soon be placed on 
the market. Besides the dozen 
conl " banks," from which the 
local farmers derive a portion 
of their fuel supply, the three 
mining towns of Bevier, Emerson 
and Lingo report an 

ANNUAL OUTPUT 

of 7.">0,00() tons of coal, half a 
million tons of which are mined 
Mt Bevier, where the monthly pro- 
duction reaches 3,000 car loads. 
About 200 car loads per month 
are mined at Lingo, and between 
400 and 500 per month at Emer- 
scm. Of the 

THBEE gUABTEBS OF A MILLION 
TONS 

of coal now annually mined in 
the county, it is safe to say 9'> per 
cent, goes into the export trade, 
and on account of its high qual- 
ity finds a ready and steadily in- 
increasing market demand in 
Northern Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. 
Large quantities are consumed by the two trunk 
railways which tap the richer coal districts, and 
the new Santa Fe line will soon supply its entire 
middle divisiim, from the Lingo district. The 
production of coal is 

UAPIULV INCBEASING 

at all the principal mining points. The wealthy 
operators at Bevier and Lingo are increasing 
their mining facilities. A St. Louis syndicate 
lias lately purchased the mines at Kmerson, and 
will increase their working force to iiOi) miners. 
.Measures have lately been taken to run a spur 
from the City of Macon to the rich coal fields 



near College Mound, and with the developments 
now going forward near Macon, it is not improb- 
able that the immense coal production of Macon 
County will be doubled within the next five years. 
Supplementing the rich coal measures of the 
county are other mineral resources worthy of 
note in this connection. Fine deposits of 

potteb's clay, 
are found in various portions of the county, and 
as in all bituminous coal regions, there is an 
abundance of superior 

FIBE CLAY, 

which will some day be brought into requisition. 




THEO. UAliV S BEAL ESTAIE OFUCK, MALU.S. 

Brick and tile clays of excellent quality abound 
in all porti(ms of the county. Good building 
sand is also found in ample supply along the 
rivers and creeks. 

GOLD DUST 

has been washed from the sands of the Chariton 
bottoms, but not in quantity to attract the atten- 
tion of capital or the use of approved appliances 
for placer mining. Good deposits of 

BED OCHBK, 

of excellent quality, such as is used in the cheaper 
mineral paints, are found at several points, but 
have never been worked. There is more or less 
iron, some copper, lead and zinc, and traces of 



silver in the timbered hills of the upper Chariton. 
Macon County is especially fortunate alike in the 
variety and quality of its 

SOILS, 
a note of which will be of paramount interest to 
the settler and investor, not less than to present 
owners and cultivators. 

THE HIGH PBAIBIE SOILS, 

which cover nearly sixty per cent, of the county, 
are mainly composed of the same dark flexible 
molds and loams so common in the prairie dis- 
tricts of Iowa and Illinois. They are rich in 
humxis, easily worked, from ten to thirty inches 
deep, and grow fine crops of grass, 
vegetables and grains, excepting 
only wheat. 

THE OAK AND HICKOBY SOILS, 

which cover about thirty per cent, 
of the county, are generally a com- 
bination of silicions clays and 
loams, varying in color from mul- 
atto to the rich chocolate and red 
of the finer Virginia and Ken- 
tucky soils, and are especially 
suited to the growth of wheat, 
tobacco, fruits and red clover, all 
of which are grown in splendid 
measure and quality. Age and 
thorough cultivation have shown 
them to be almost equally valuable 
for corn, oats, rye, vegetables and 
the finer grasses. 

THE VALLEY AND BOTTOM LANDS 

which, as heretofore noted, cover 
some twelve per cent, of the coun- 
ty, like the famous valleys of the 
older States, are from a quarter 
mile to two miles in width, and are 
a rich alluvial deposit from four to 
fifteen feet deep and enormously 
jiroductive of all the grains, 
grasses and vegetables of the lati- 
tude, save only in limited por- 
tions of the Chariton bottoms sub- 
ject to overflow. While these 
superficial soils present a splen- 
did array of productive forces, 
they are supplemented by 

SUB SOILS, 

equal in value to any known to 
husbandry. The entire county, 
outside of the bottom lands, is 
underlaid with an inexhaustible 
deposit of 

SILICIOUS CLAVH AND MAULS, 

abundant in silica, lime phos- 
phate, lime and magnesia carbon- 
ate, alumina, organic matter and 
other equally valuable properties, 
which show the close kinship of this remarkable 
substructure with the world-famous Im'sa of the 
Rhine and Nile valleys and laciixtrine deposits of 
the .\lpine valleys. These subsoils generally run 
down to the bed rock or water levels, and to the 
superficial observer are simply dead, impervious 
tenaceous clays, but they are really among the 
richest and most 

lUPEBISBABLB SOILS 

in the world; and here, as in every country where 
they are found, they readily disintegrate on ex- 
posure to frost and the atmosphere, and with 
deep culture they slack to the consistency of an 
ash-heap, and bear such a rank growth of weeds, 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



^riiSFi, ^riiiiiH itliU vv^i'talili'rt. tlial in \vr*t* f*TliU' 
r('>;if>nrt they wtiulJ be considered n ^(khI rtubBti- 
lule for compoitt. Everywhere nhout the rnil- 
way outs and Hllc. the poiid.x, eellars. cixleruit, 
wellit and «treel K f'"'''"'- where the«e rich HohMoUs 
have been two or three years expoHed to frogt 
and air, they produce enormous ^^rowthx of ve^e- 
tatiou. They are in fact an iniperiiihable and 
invaluable resource, and generations hence, when 
these rich surface soils have washed away into 
the lower valleys and the bed of the ocean, will 
prove 

AN INKXHAimTIBLB MINK Or WKALTn 

to the deep, thorough and systematic cultivators 
of the future, .\fter half a dozen years of care- 
ful observation in Central and North Missouri, I 
am quite ready to believe that when large areas 
of the older States are hopelessly given over to 
the artificial fertilizers, and a new race of farm- 
ers arc carrying systematic and deep cultivation 



WIIKAI 

was a minor crop and tobacco the leading crop 
in the oak and hickory lands, but for the last 
half dozen years its productiim has increased 
from r>(),<)(K) and lUI.INHI bushels up to '.'(NI.IMNI and 
2r>0,l)<N) bushels, or more than the combined 
wheat crop of the six New England States. The 
<|uality of the grain is e<|ual to any grown in 
America, the yield per acre ranges from eighteen 
to forty bushels, and with the steady increase 
in production, half a dozen years hence will And 
Macon one of the first wheat counties in the 
State. 

COUN IS KINO 

of grains here, as blue grass is king of herbage. 
Everybody grows corn. In the prairies one may 
ride for days in the midst of almost continuous 
corn fields, as fine as those of the Des Moines, 
Wabash and Sciota Valleys. The woodland 
farmer grows it in smaller fields but fine ineas- 



liere in particularly line. .Macon in the second 
tobacco producing county in the State, and a 
good portion of its tobacco crop is manufactured 
at home and shipped directly to Liverpool. 

THE OAT CBOI> 

will reach 4INMHXI bushels this year, and the 
yield per acre from thirty to sixty bushels. The 
crop is both popular and profitable. Buckwheat 
does well but is little grown. Flax is an excel- 
lent crop but is not popular. Br<Him corn makes 
a fine growth liut is little cultivated. Kye and 
barley both do finely but are neglected crops. 

H<inoiii'ii 
never fails of a full crop and in the light of the 
startling success of Prof. Swenson"s "UifTusion 
Process" for making sugar of amber cane at the 
Fort Scott Sugar works, may be looked upon as 
one of the future great staples of Macon County. 

IBISII AND SWEKT POTATOES 

are aniversally grown, the former t<i the extent 








M. >. CUCBOII, BOCTH, MACON. 



down into this wonderfully rich alien deposit of 
silicious matter, this region will become the 

CLASHIO OBOUND 

of American husbandry, and Macon Coonty a 
veritable garden of bounty, beauty and bloom. 
Here, as in all other regions where this peculiar 
deposit obtains, it is found to be a splendid 
basis for grains, fruits. grass<>s and vegetables. 
These subsoils are the most versatile and give 

THE WIUKST BANOE TO PBODITITIO.N 

of any known to husbandry. Wheat, corn, oats, 
rye, barley, buckwheat, tobacco, broom corn, 
millet, sorghum, all the vegetables of field and 
garden, all the grasses, plants and fruits of the 
middle latitudes, grow in perfectiim here, and it 
is a justifiable boast of the enterprising Macon 
County farmer that he can grow anything that 
flourishes between the northern limits of the 
cotton fields and the northern Red River. In the 
early day 



are. In 1880 the corn crop of the county reached 
8,22'.',h7.'i bushels; since then the total yield of 
the county has been carried up to4,8;M,(i<Ki bush 
' eU, or more than the entire corn crop of .Maine, 
Rhode Island and Colorado. The nnprecedenled 
crop of IHSH will probably reach 

riVE AND A HALF MII.I.ION orSHEUI, 

a princely crop, and yet the county is not half 
under the plow and its corn producing capacity 
not a tenth developed. The yield per acre the 
prenent season will range from thirty to eighty 
bashels according to soil and cnlturo. 

TOBAfX)0 

is one of the ranking crops of this county, wher- 
its yearly production runs from one million >•' 
two million ptiuuds, and not less than 3,000 men, 
women and children are more or less enga|{ed in 
its gr6wth and manufacture. It is a splendid 
crop in the oak and hickory lands, pays well in 
most seasons, and the i|nality of the plant grown 



CIIUISTIAN rill'BrH, MACON. 

of IfiO.OOO bashels a year, and are considered 
first rate crops. Field peas, beans, turnips, 
pumpkins and all the plants and vegetables of 
the field are a decided success anywhere in this 
county, which may appropriately bo tanned 

THE OABtlKN LANK, 

for everything grown in the modem garden of 
the temperate zone flourishes in profusion. 
Heels, turnips, carrots, cabbage, parsnips, onions, 
celery, asparagus, melons, s<|aashes, beans, peas, 
tomatoes, all are staples. Luxuries and delicacies 
of the garden are grown in perfection with half 
the care and labor required in the older States. 

rBCiT ooinrrBT, 
Mncfin County has no superior. It bos the 
elevation, humidity, location, soils and loeal 
climatic conditions of a fruit growers paradise. 
Finer, healthier, thriftier fruit trees, vines and 
plants than those grown a|>oD these silicious and 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 




BESISENOE or COL. JOHN F. WILLIAMS. MACON. 



loamy soils are nowhere to be found. The woods 
are richly festooned with wild grape vines of 
enormous size and the wild grape, plum, cherry, 
gooseberry, raspberry, blackberry, blackhaw, 
hawthorn, crab, etc., grow in great abundance 
and perfection. 

FBUITFUL OBCHAaDB AND VINETABD8 

and fruit gardens yield generous crops of apples, 
pears, cherries, plums, apricots, grapes, rasp- 
berries, blackberries, strawberries, currants, 
gooseberries, etc., as fine in size, flavor, color and 
texture as may be found between the two oceans. 
From 150,000 to 200,000 barrels of apples are 
annually shipped out of the county, much of the 
crop going to the New York market on account 
of its high quality. The apple crop of this year 



will be the largest ever grown in the county. 
Many of the apple trees are breaking under the 
burden of the finest fruit crop ever seen in the 
West. The grapes grown upon the warm expo- 
sures of the county, especially in the woodlands, 
are equal in flavor, size and color to those grown 
in the islands of Lake Erie and on the banks of 
the Ohio and Hudson rivers. There is 

NOT AN HONDKED ACBE8 OF WASTE LAND 

in all this broad county of 529,920 acres. There 
are no irredeemable swamps, marshes or lagoons, 
and the thinnest gravel or rocky hillside bears the 
richest native grazing herbage. Even the coal 
measures, which in most regions underlie sterile, 
worthless soils, are here in Macon County cov- 
ered with the richest surface soils, where the 




BE8IDKNCZ OF P. M. WBIOHT, MAOUN. 



miner may plant his roof-tree and cultivate a 
model garden above the coal-beds where he daily 
makes his usual tonnage of "black diamonds." 
No part of the continent offers a finer field than 
Macon County for 

TABIETY FABMINO, 

the surest and most stable and profitable indus- 
try in modern husbandry. The versatility of 
these soils, and their perfect adaptation to all 
lines of production, make them especially valua- 
ble for "mixed" farming, in which live stock, 
grain growing, garden, poultry, dairy, orchard 
and kindred products become a source of thrift, 
prosperity and comparative independence to the 
farmer and all other classes in any way depend- 
ent upon his success. If the writer were asked 
to name and locate 

THE FINKST OBASS OOUNTBY 

in the West, he would unhesitatingly give the 
honor to Macon and the contiguous counties in 
what is popularly known as "the blue grass 
region of North Missouri." As the profusion 
and perfection of wild fruits in the early day 
made it certain that this region would develop 
into a model fruit country, so the great variety 
and luxuriance of the 

WILD OBAB8E8 

in this county, during the pioneer period, settled 
the question of its future pastoral wealth. The 
early botanists found in the prairies and woods 
of Macon County upwards of 150 varieties of 
native grasses, most of which were of more or 
less value for hay or grazing. Not less than 

ONE HUNDBED VABIETIEB 

still remain under the severe test of a half cen- 
tury of domestic grazing, which has given abund- 
ant proof alike of their tenacity and value. The 
stalwart " blue stem," the strongest and most 
succulent, as also the dominant and most val- 
uable of these wild grasses, is still common in 
all the natural meadows and pastures, and is 
greatly esteemed by stockmen. But the steady 
advance of the ploughman, the widening of the 
grain fields, the tramp of the domestic herds and 
the march of the all-conquering blue grass will 
soon enough work the extinction of the wild 
herbage that for fifty years has been the grand- 
est resource of the Macon County farmer. 

Supplementing these wild grasses to-day, the 
visitor will find the grandest exhibit of 

DOMESTIC OBA88B8 

between Boston Harbor and the Golden Gate. 
In point of quality and generous growth, no por- 
tion of the American continent can excel this 
particular region for grasses. Full 

ONE HUNDBED AND FIFTY THOUSAND ACBES 

of domestic blue grass, red and white clover, 
timothy, orchard grass and herdsgrass (red top) 
are under tribute to the hay makers and herds- 
men of this royal county, and not less than lOO,- 
(MX) acres more of the native prairie and wood- 
land pastures are more or less set in blue grass, 
white clover and herdsgrass. And what a mag- 
nificent showing of pastoral beauty and wealth 
these green grassy fields present! 

THE TIMOTHY MEADOWS 

of the county are equal to any in the Western 
Reserve, New York or the Canadas, and have this 
season yielded 1(K),()00 tons of the finest timothy 
hay. The mixed timothy, clover and herdsgrass 
meadows have probably turned out 30,000 addi- 
I tional tons. More than 20,000 tons of hay are 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



annuall}' ImU-d for shipint-nl t»> New Orli'iins mid 
other Soutliern ninrketB. but the ({rent hay crop 
o( this yeiir will give a snrplua of W),(KK) tons (or 
export, and surplus timothy seed to the amount 
of 10.000 linshels. 



iniikinf^ the (M)iii|Uf^t ttf the entire country, and 
a few yiMirs hence will have completely Hubdued 
the wild grasses and foul growth of the county. 
If there be anywhere in these United States a 
region whose grasses are superior to those of 




BOMK OF D. II 



BSD OLOTBB, 

the finest general fertilizer known to American 
husbandry, makes a splendid showing on all the 
soils of the county, but in the timber lands is 
the finest I have seen in the I'nion. It is more 
tenacious than in any of the older States, is rich 
in quality, and never fails of a good yield of seed 
from the second or autumn crop. 

WHITE CLOTBB 

is aniversal. Yon will find it on any square acre 
in the county, whether wild or improved. It is a 
natural product of these soils, makes the finest 
growth I have seen in any country, and, like 

BLUB OBASS, 

came with the domestication of the country. 
Both are to the "manor born;" both flourish in 
the same soils and under the same conditions. 
side by side in the same fields, forests, lawns, 
highways and orchards, and from March to De- 
cember may be found growing green and luxuri- 
ant from the water-lines to the crown of the 
highest hills. Blue gra.ss, the imperial, tenacious, 
nutritions, succulent, all-conquering 

KIMO or OBAHKBH, 

IS the glory of this whole blue grass region and 
the grandest resource of the county above ground. 
It is not only indigenous, but in this climate, and 
especially in these silicious clays, marls and 
loams, makes a practically 

PKBENMI4t. PASTtlBAUB, 

for, with the same care and treatment given b\ 
Kentuckians to their reserve winter pastures, 
there is not a month of the winter that the blue 
grass of Mnron County will not sul>?»jst cver\ 
claas of stock, excepting milch cows and work 
ing horses and mules. The few eice|>tional. 
thorough farmers of this county, like Maj. W. 
A. Miles, J. M. Ketcham, J. V. BrickeU. Thos 
Jobson. W. H. I^Mtmis. Gran W. Draper, and 
others I could name, have blue grass pastures 
every whit as fine in all respects (save only ngr 
and the perfection it brings) as any in old Bour- 
bon or Morgan Coanties. Blue graaa is steadily 



Macon and the surrounding counties, fifteen years 
of constant rambling, and more or less critical 
observation, have failed to disclose it to the 
writer. Of course. Macon County and this entire 
blue grass region of North Missouri is 

A BOYAI. STOCK COUNTBY. 

If there be a finer, the writer has never seen it. 
Here, in perfection, are all the conditions to the 
growth and perfect development of animal life. 
The unrivaled grasses, pure and abundant waters, 
superb natural timber shelter, cheap gra/.ing 



IIIK IDBAL HTOOBMAN'b HOMB. 

Cattle, horses, sheep, mules, pigs and all animals 
mature earlier than in the older and colder Nor- 
thern States; lands are sixty to eighty per cent, 
cheaper; grains thirty per cent, cheaper; shelter 
far less expensive while competing tmnk rail- 
ways give the cheapest freight rates known to 
the West. Beyond these the Macon County stock- 
man has 

A OBHIAL AMD RBALmrtn. OLIMATB, 

which gives alike to men, animals and plants 
the highest average of health, vigor and longev- 
ity known to any good agricultural country in 
America. A mean elevation of 800 feet above 
the tides, a mean temperature of 60 degrees, the 
absence of malaria, breeding swamps, marshes 
and lagoons, long genial growing summers, with 
delightfully cool restful nights and breezy days, 
short open winters, with light and transient 
snows, and well defined beautiful spring and 
autumn seastms, make up the full measure of a 
local climate alike genial and healthful to man 
and beast. It is the equable mean between the 
cold and rigorous North and the hot humid South, 

A CLIMATIC BEVELATION 

to the visitor from the higher latitudes. \\\ the 
germs of life yield quickly to the reproductive 
influences of spring. I well remember the balmy 
South winds, soft blue haze, green grasses, hum- 
ming of bees and bird-songs along the Hannibal 
i St. Joseph Railway in the early spring of 1879, 
while my Northern friends were snow and ice- 
bound, and the very memory of that season is a 
benediction. These and many a minor interest 
that must be nameless here, give the Macim 
County stockman a big margin of advantage 
over the stock growers of the older Eastern 
States. Indeed. I know of no region where stock 
raising and feeding is so 

SAFE AND PBOriTABLE 




HOMB or THBO. UAki, MAtuN. 



lands, cheap grains, central location, splendid 
transportation facilities and long grazing seasons 
that go to make up 



as in this portion of Missouri. Cattle, sheep, 
swine, horse and mule raising, in careful, intelli- 
gent bands, pajrs from twenty to thirty per cent. 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



on the investment. With good wild grazing lands 
at ^i to $12 per acre, and improved grazing 
farms at ^lil to $20 per acre, the Chicago, Kansas 
City & St. Louis stock markets only ten to fifteen 







PALACE IIOTEI,. MACON. 

hours away, cheap freights, cheap corn, short 
winters and superb grasses, the stockman who 
abjures speculation and closely follows the one 
work of breeding, grazing and feeding his own 
herds, is on 

THE SURE BOAD TO FOBTUNE. 

There is no business in the world like it for net 
profit. It is a system of compounding interest 
that no other legitimate calling approaches. 
Every man that follows it for a dozen years and 
keeps clear of speculation, is as sure of com- 
petency and independence as the years are sure 
to come and go. 

CATTLE GBOWINO AND FEEDINO, 

in connection with swine raising and feeding is, 
next to coal mining, the forem4)st industry of the 
country. High grade short horns, of model types. 
bred from the best beef-getting stock, are now 
kept by most of the growers and feeders, the 
steers being grazed daring the warm months, 
after which they are " full-fed," and turned oCf 
during the winter and spring, weighing 1200 to 
1700 ])Ounds, at two and three years old, the 
heavier animals for Kuropcan export. The steers 
are followed by large, line, blocky Poland-China 
and Berkshire pigs, which fatten on the litter and 
dropjiings of the yard and go on the market 
weighing 200 to 4oo pounds at ten to twelve 



their own feed lots from ten to thirty car loads 
of prime steers and pigs, .\nother and quite 
nnmerous class of feeders turn oft from five to 
ten car loads, and a still larger number from one 
to three car loads each. 

nOBSE AND MULE BAISINO 

is a favorite and very profitable in- 
dustry, pursued by many of the 
best farmers of the county with 
uniform pleasure and profit. A 
large surplus of mules are annually 
shipped from this country to the 
Southern market. Macon County 
is 

A SPLENDID SHEEP COUNTBV 

and formerly embraced a good num- 
ber of large well bred herds, but the 
CTfliiutf '"^^ price of home grown wools and 
the wholesale introduction of cheap 
foreign textiles, has pretty well 
broken up the larger fiocks, leav- 
ing the business now in the hands 
of the smaller variety farmers most 
of whom carry small flocks chiefly 
as farm scavengers. Sheep are very 
healthy and robust here, and under favoring 
conditions would again prove the most profit- 
able stock in the country. The 

EXTENT OF THE LITE 8TOCK INDUBTKV 





to 10,000, the cattie to 50,000, the sheep to 50,000 
and the swine to 50.000. without seriously inter- 
fering with mixed farming. As the grasses are 
the one grand overshadowing production of the 
soil, in this county, so stock husbandry is the 
absorbing and profitable industry. 

IT BEATS WHEAT GBOWINO 

three to one, though the latter calling be pursued 
under favoring conditions in the best wheat 
regions. It beats speculation of every sort, for 
it is as 

BCBE AS THE BAINS AND TIDES 

and sunshine. What are stocks, bonds, "op- 
tions," mining shares, traffic and merchandise, 
in comparison with these matchless and magnifi- 
cent grasses, that come of their own volition, 
and are fed by the Eternal God with the rains 
and dews and imperishable soils of such a laud 
as this, through all the agesr Stock growing in 
such a country as this is 

A NOBLE CALLING. 

and develops a race of royal men. Here, too. it 
is the absorbing, entertaining occupation of the 
day and location. If it be eminently practical 
and profitable, so too, is it 

INVESTED WITH A POEIIO OaABM. 

To grow the green, succulent, luxuriant grasses, 
develop the finer lines of grace and beauty in 
animal conformation, tend one's flocks and herds 




i 



VIEW ON EAST FOBK NEAB MACON. 




ST. JAMES Mll.ITAUY ACADEMV, MACU.S. 

months old. Macon County embraces some of 
the best feeders in the State — clear-sighted, ex- 
perienced stockmen, who annually ship from 



in this county is only fairly indicated by the 
assessors reports for 1S87, which it is safe to 
assume, are in every class, except swine, twenty 

per cent, below the real number of 

V animals now in the county. The re- 

turns show an aggregate of 12,420 
horses, 3,443 mules, 44,38!> cattle, ;t,81f. 
sheep and 2.">,187 swine. The 

YEABLT EXPOBT 

of fat cattle, sheep, swine and mules 
from this county reaches L.^OO car 
loads, worth in the home market, at 
present prices, the startling sum of 
$l..">O0.OOO. Surprising as these figures 
may be to Eastern readers, it mu.st be 
remembered that the stock growing 
industry is 

ONLY IN ITS INFANCY. 

Not a fourth of the wild and domestic 

pastures are this year utilized; not a 

fourth of the stock-growing capacity of the 

county is yet developed. The number of horses 

might be carried up to 20.000. the mule stock 



on the green fragrant range, live in an atmos- 
phere of delicate sympathy with the higher 
forms and impulses of the animal life in ime's 
care, and to be inspired by the higher senti- 
ments and traditions of honorable breeding, is 

A LIFE TO BE COVETED 

by the best men of all lands. By the side of the 
herds and herdsmen and grasses of such a coun- 
try as thi.s, the men of the grain fields are 
nowhrre. These stockmen are leading a far more 
honorable and satisfactory life than the Hebrew 
shepherds led on the Assyrian hills in the old 
dead centuries, for they tend their flocks, live 
with and love one woman, and raise honest chil- 
dren in 

I THE SWEET ATMOSPHEBE OF CONTENT. 

They are at peace with their neighliors and 
look i>at upon pastoral landscnjies fairer than 
ever graced the canvas of Turner. The skies 
above them are as radiant as those above the 
.Arno. and if the finer arts of the older lands are 
little cultivated by the herdsmen of these peace- 
' ful valleys, they are yet devoted to the higher art 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



iif |iatirii! and tioiHiraliU* living. 

I>*IKY rAllSilNd 

IH a iifKl<*o(t>d »rl ill lliix tieniitiful couiil}'. wlii>rt< 
tht»re are liut Iwti or thrt>i* piiblic crt*niii«TivH nnd 
Vfry few well rnnducled priviite dairieri, nnd yet 
il would he ditlU'iiU to tiiul n region whose locn- 
tion, water. ki'"'"'>'^- olipn|i pnHlaro laiidw, tine 
market facilitie.H, itc, ofTor Diore niid bettor 
o|>ciiiii)(ii for skilled diiirymen aud woiiieu. Chi- 
eagi). St. liOuJH, KniiunK City, and the mountain 
towuK. all K*>"^ innrketH for the better claXH of 
dairy produrts. are easily aud iiuirkly neressible 
throu^'h the trunk railway line.s that rross Macon 
County. 



of about tbirt) iiK'heM. Kttrly iiu'tien is eioeoded 
ill very wet yearn, like the present, nnd in exces- 
i>i%'ely dry xeaHoiiH. like I8H7. the ininiiiiuiii rain- 
fall drops to twenty inches. No re);ion in the 
I'nioii has a more e<|unl>le or evenly distril>uted 
rainfall in the ^'rowin^ season than this division 
i>f Missouri. 

TIIK KKNCK <jt'EHTION 

Quds easy solution in Macon County, where the 
osiifj^e oranK^ {Hiiis '</ .Irr) ({rows into n );iH>d 
stock priMif hed((e in four years and where there 
are more than 7IK) miles of this class of fencing 
to test its utility and beauty. In the wooded 
districts white, black, red. yellow nnd swamp 



has finer 

UAILWAY rACILITiaa 

than Macon. 'i*he Moberly and ttttuinwa division 
of the Wabash system crosses the county cen- 
trally from south t<i north, thirty miles, with six 
shippiiiK stations within the county. The Han- 
nibal A HI, Joseph railway |Burliii({t<in system) 
crosses the county centrally from east to west, 
with thirty milefl of track and five additiimal 
shipping stations. The Chicago, Santa Ke A 
Californin i Santa Fe system) crossea the county 
frvim southwest to northeast. );ivinK twenty two 
miles of track and five shipping stations. innkiiiK 
a total of eighty-two miles of railway and 




'^ggMWWWiww^MM^ ~.- r6^»"-c^gCf> 



(IIICMOT I'l.ArK TIIK SI'UtlUBAN IIOMK Of THOH. JOUMIN. MAI'ON. 



CHEAP STOCK rABllH, 

for cattle, horse, mule, swine and shM-p raising 
or dairying, may t>e made up in tracts of mi, IIU) 
or H'.ll acres, with w<H>d. water, fair improre- 
ments nnd fairly located at 41I11 tofl.'; per acre 
— lands admirnbly suited to stock growing or 
dairying, which, in any of the States enst of the 
Mississippi, would cost Ihiee and four times the 
money, and the opportunities for ambitions and 
intelligent young stock-farmers with large or 
moderate means are among the best I have 
found in the western country. With my notes 
on the climate of Macon County, no mention 
was made of 

THK TKAKLT aAIMrALI.. 

which in all this division of Missouri ranges 
from twenty-two to fort; inches with an average 



onk, honey locust, ash, cherry and walnut are 
made into common rails, and a full third of ihe 
county is fenced with the old fashioned worm 
fence. Plniik or board fence is used to some 
extent, but the cheapest, most oommim. popular 
and effective fencing of the county is barbed 
wire, which on account of the cheapness of |>ost 
timber is more cheaply constructed than in Iowa, 
Illinois or ( ihio. The 

NATI'MAL DRAIKAOt 

of the county is excellent, excepting in limited 
districts of low-lying fiat land: the frequent, 
rapid, deep.sel streams, draws and ravines, nnd 
generally rolling character of the country, readily 
absorb the surplus water and leave most of the 
lands available to the cultivator, hard after 
copious rains. No oonaty in northern Missouri 



MKVBKTBBII KAILWAT HTATIONH. 

which bring four-fifths of the people of Ihe 
county within five miles of railway shipping 
|H>ints. Close on the borders of the county are 
half a dozen other shipping stations which are 
available to the producers and traders of the 
county. Theee three great trunk lines give the 
people of the county 

DIUOT consEmoss 
with Chicago, St. Louis. Kansas City, Omaha and 
the entire railway system of the middle I'nion. 
No portion of the great Mississippi Valley has 

rniArca tbamsihibtation 
than theoe com|>eting railroads afford the far- 
mers, merchants and shippers of this fortunate 
county. The position of the county in the finest 
and most productive portion of the great Central 



10 



MACOX COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



state, very near to the geographical centie of 
the Union, gives it 

MABKET FAOILITIES 



THE PBOJECTED BAILWAY 

now being surveyed direct from St. Louis via 
Macon to Omaha, will not only tap the richest 




VIEW UK VinK BTKBKT, UAOON. 



which almost any other region of the country 
might envy. Fat cattle, swine and sheep drift 
naturally to the Union and National Stock Yards 
at Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City. Flour 
and the coarser mill staffs find a ready market 
South and West, and indeed in all other directions. 
Poultry, dairy, orchard and garden products 
meet a quick market in the mountain States and 
Territories. Mules and hay mainly go into the 



coal fields of the county, but add materially to 
the shipping and market facilities of the pro- 
ducers and traders of the county. Other lines 
are looking to these rich coal fields for traffic 
and full supply, and will soon enough make 
Macon the centre of a system which any other 
county in the interior of the State might covet. 
The present and prospective transportation 
facilities make possible and profitable a multi 




INS STREET. MACON. 



Southern States, while grass seeds, surplus horses 
and Other products of the county go in all direc- 
tions, according to demand. 



tnde of so called 

MINOB ISDrSTBIES 

which, in many Eastern localities are of para- 



moont importance, and often sources of com- 
manding wealth and influence. 

SMALL FBUrr FABMINO, 

one of the most profitable and entertaining call- 
ings, which in many regions involves the best 
order of brain, tact and experience, and often 
results in splendid returns for the capital and 
labor invested, might be carried to grand pro- 
portions in this favored county, than which 
there is no superior for this work in the Western 
country. Equally favorable are the soils and 
location for 

STAPLE FBDIT OBOWINO, 

for there are thousands of acres of warm slopes 
and elevations about Macon, La Plata, Atlanta, 
Bevier, Callao and New Cambria, which might be 
transformed into orchards and vineyards which 
would soon enough reflect the glory and profit of 
the great apple and pear growing regions of New 
York and Michigan, and the vintages and wine 
presses of Western New York, the Erie Islands 
and Southern California. 

MABKET GABDENINO, 

too, might be carried to the highest level of suc- 
cess, for, as with the fruits of the orchard and 
vintage, the Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Da- 
kota and the mountain markets for all these 
products, are practically illimitable. These noble 
callings not only diversify industry, but invite 
and sustain a population of marked intelligence 
and thrift. They tend to the distribution of 
wealth and influence rather than its centraliza- 
tion; give rapid and enormous increase to the 
value of lands, and lend character and dignity 
to industry. 

BEE KEEPIMO, 

another of the neglected arts in this land of 
bloom and beauty, might be made a grand suc- 
cess. The woods are full of bees and wild honey, 
and the long season of bloom from the linden, 
the white clover fields, the orchards and wild 
flora of the woods and prairies, together with 
the mild climate, make all this region a veritable 
paradise for the intelligent beekeeper. The ad- 
vantages of 

POULTBT BAI8INO 

are not half appreciated. The people of this gen- 
ial and bounteous country are evidently oblivious 
to the fact that California. Arizona. New Mexico, 
Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Montana and Wyoming 
— a vast and growing empire of wealth, industry 
and population — can never successfully raise 
poultry, and furnish the finest market in the 
world for poultry products. One of the primary 
considerations with immigrants should be settle- 
ment in a locality that offered the most and best 
elements of 

CHEAP LIVING. 

Thonsands of people with moderate means push 
on westward to some Utopia of the treeless 
plains, where wood, coal, lumber, timber, fruits 
and other common necessities of life, must be 
imported at great expense, and before they be- 
gin to live in comfort, have exhausted their little 
all of worldly goods, and must thenceforth make 
a hard fight for subsistence on doubtful ground. 
Here, in Macon County, 

FUEL IS CHEAP, 

landE are cheap, rents are cheap, lumber and all 
classes of building material are cheap, the pro- 
ducts of the farm, the dairy, the poultry yard, 
orchard and garden are cheap, by comparison 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



11 



with iin}' Enntern district, and inUnitvly ku by 
compnriHon with any tuwu or diHirict in the plainH 
or Miuuntains. CoaU are 8old nt the banks for 
$1, and in the towni* for $2.25 per ton. Foar- 
foot cord wood in sold at |;1.50 to f 2 per cord, on 
an orer-Htocked market. Kvery thing one eat8 
in HurpriHin^ly cheap. Beef, pork and mutton 
from seven to twelve centH per pound. Ef^^H, 
butter, poultry and KOfden stuff quite as cheap. 
Fruits nominal; lumber and building; material 
cheaper than in most regions of Illinois, Ohio 
and Indiana. Groceries, dry jfoods, hardware, 
(arm machinery, house furnishing all kinds of 
merchandise— are from ten to 

TWBMTT PCB CENT. OHEIPEB 

than in any of the prairie or mountain countries 
to the westward, and (juite as cheap as in any of 
the old States east of the Mississippi. All things 
considered, this country affords 

THE cnEAPEHT LIVINU 

(or good, rational, sensible people, accustomed 
to all the common comforts; to mechanics, com- 
mon laborers, farmers, merchants everybody- 
of any coantry between Plymouth Rook and the 
Pacific Ocean. 

LANDS ABE 8DBPBI8INOLT CHEAP, 

cheaper indeed than in any other country of my 
knowledge, especially when the location, sur- 
roundings and wonderfnl reeonroes of the coantry 
are considered. 

WILD LANDS 

are celling all the way from ffi to fin per acre, 
according to quality and location. These lands 
embrace all the advantages of wood, wateri 
prairie, building stones, every variety of native 
grass, including blue grass, white clover and 
herds grass, are admirably suited to stock, grain 
and fruit growing, and can be purchased in tracts 
to suit the buyer. Mr. Theo. (>ary, a well known 
and reliable land broker of Macon, quotes 

IICPBOVEO PABMS 

all the way from $10 to $iV) per acre, according 
to soils, location and improvements. These 
farms too, are suitable for all uses and may be 
devoted to grains, grasses, slock raising, fruit 
and dairy farming, poultry raising and tobacco 
as specialties, or to "mixed" farming at the 
pleasure of the owner. They are by comparison 

OBEAPBB THAN rBEE nOUESTSADa 

in the newer States and Territories, for in many 
instances the buyer not only gets a choice piece 
of land, but gets it for 

LESS TBAH THE CO«T OF TUB IlTPBOTBIfBBTB, 

the land really costing him nothing. The reader 
must remember too, that these farms are quite 
as productive as those of lIlinoiH. Ohio, Indiana 
and other of the older States; that they are com- 
paratively free from foul growth and are vastly 

MOBB EABILI WOBKED 

than in the older States. They are rich in nalive 
elements of fertility, produce generously and for 
reasons heretofore mentioned 

HEED NO ABTiriOIAL FEBTILIZEBil, 

but are growing better with age and deep onlti- 
vation. It will bo well to remember, too, that 
they are located in one of the richest countie* of 

AN OLD WELL SETTLED OOUNTBT, 

abundant in schools, churches, mills, railways, 
bright and growing market towns, good society, 
enormously rich mining industries, bountiful 



orchards, vineyards and gardens and generous enced the great mass of immigrants to pass by 
rainfall. They lie in the very heart of the this beautiful and fertile country and settle in 
Mississippi Valley, in the centre of the Union, less favored regions further West. To the 




CUICAUO, SANTA FE A OALIFOBNIA B. B. DEPOT, LA PLATA. 



sarronnded by, and in close relation with, the 
great markets of Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas 
City. They are 

NOT ON THE TBEELEB8 AND KAINLEKH PLAINS 

but in a beautiful and fruitful land, where good 
mother Nature has been prodigal of her best 
gifts to man -a country that is yet to become 
one of the garden spots of the American conti- 
nent. 

WUT LANDS ABE 80 CHEAP 

in this country is easily explained. As briefly 



average immigrant from the North and East, 
Missonri is as nearly 

A TKUBA INCOGNITA 

as the shores of the Polar ocean. Believing it 
an inhospitable country inhabited by a people 
inimical to schools, law. order, intelligence, free 
speech, free politics and progress -a race of 
yahixis, dominated by intolerant ruffians and 
outlaws a ijuarter of a million Eastern and 
Northern people, with their wealth of braio, 
heart, gold, enterprise and experience, have 




U A UA»11 I L I 



11 1 I 1 L 



noted in the introductory chapter to this Hand- annually crossed this grand old State to boUd 
Book, the popular prejudice against Missouri homes, plant riKif tree* and make destiny for 
among Eastern and Northern people, has influ- | letui favored and inviting regions. Nebraaka, 



12 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



Kansas, Colorado, Texas and the Mountain and 
Pacific States have grown populous and pros- 
perous at the expense of a neglected State 
whose natural resources are unquestionably the 



likely soon to become the objective point for 
the investment of more capital and a larger and 
better immigration than any other portion of 
the Union. Such a movement is clearly "on the 




^L£mTA.SAfNi^i<'lJ&l^f/i^. 



I. A ri,\r\ ^A\IN(iS IIA.NK. LA M.A'IA. 



finest in the Union. Meantime the Western 
railways have advertised 

MILLIONS OF ACUEH OK CHEAP LAND 

in Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Dakota, Color- 
ado. Texas and the mountains, and invited the 
million to come and buy and build homes and 
make farms and fortunes in Utopia. 

FBKB OOVEBNMENT LANDS 

for homesteaders, pre-eraptors and tree planters 
in the same States, have proven a great attrac- 
tion too, and all these States have been advertised 
by railways, newspapers, immigration societies, 
town site owners, land speculators, etc., until 
they are as familiar to the world as a household 
word. Old Missouri, naturally the richest State 
in the Union, 

HAH NEVEB BEEN ADVEBTISED, 

and is to-day, of all the States that offer really 
good inducements to settlement and investment, 
the one neglected, misapprehended, slighted and 

UNKNOWN COUNTBY, 

and that is why lands are so cheap in Macon 
County, and indeed in every other county in the 
commonwealth. While (his order of things favors 
the investor and settler of to-day, it cannot last 
long. The public lands are nearly all gone and 
will too soon be a thing of history. The few 
unsold railway lands are out of market or held at 
high prices. The cheapest lands in the West 
to-day, are in Central and Northern Missouri, 
and the Eastern public are beginning to find it 
out. Popular prejudice against this royal old 
State is gradually and surely dying out, and 
there is 

A OBOWINO BELIEF, 

in all sections of the country, that Missouri has 
been greatly underestimated, and is soon to be- 
come the centre of attraction to immigrants and 
investors. Indeed, so strong is this conscious- 
ness with the Eastern i)ublic, that Missouri is 



cards" and next to death and taxes, it is the 
surest thing in the world, that all good farm and 
grazing 

LANDS WILL DOUBLE IN VALUE 

within the next three or four years. It is impos- 
sible that they do otherwise. They are not now 
half up to their intrinsic or essential value for 
productive farm uses, and when the advance 



improvements, where similar lands are held in 
the older States. This country is in no sense 
depressed: it is simply 

NEGLECTED, OVEBLOOKED, CMDEBE8TIMATED, 

a ccmdition of things that never lasts long in any 
country, because it does not come from any in- 
herent cause, but rather from prejudice and 
untoward circumstances. Viewed subjectively, 
or abstractly, Macon County presents to the 
visitor 

A PICTDBE OF THBIFT 

and prosperity that is assuring to see. The crops 
of hay, grain, fruit and the garden are the finest 
in twenty years. An hundred farmers might be 
named whose real and personal estate is variously 
estimated at |;2(),(X)0 to |40,0()0 each. A much 
larger number own properties ranging from 
lfl.'">,(KJ() to ^20,()(K) each. A still larger number 
have real and pers<mal holdings valued at $8,IXX) 
to $1.'),0()<). Then comes the average farmer with 
his lands and live stock and implements, worth 
from ffi.OOO to |;8.00(). while the properties of 
hundreds of less able men, younger in the race 
for competency, are worth from $2,()00 to $6,UO0. 
These are in no wise speculative values, for 
there are 

NO SPECULATIVE VALtmS HBBE. 
The figures given merely represent nominal val- 
ues for property, most of which is thirty to fifty 
per cent, below its intrinsic worth. Better still, 
these properties, or at least ninety per cent, of 
them, have been 

MADE ON THE SPOT, 

out of the soils and grasses of Macon County, by 
men who began here with little or no means, and 
that is the highest compliment that can be paid 
any farm country. One may ride for days and 
days in the midst of fine farms, herds, orchards, 
grain fields, hedgerows, groves, gardens and plea- 




fairly sets in they will go to $40, $6(), $80 and 
flOO per acre, depending on soil, location and 



S STOBE, ATLANTA. 



sant rural homes in this land of beauty, bloom 
and fruition. Many of the farmers carry good 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



18 



l>nnk nccoant8, drive fine eqnipaKe, pay ii» I hey 
^o. Mend llieir Mian and dnu^literit to tlii' lii^h 
si'li(H>l Hiid Cf>lie^e, read the daily papers and 
keep fairly abreast with the progress i>f our 
genial civilization. From end to end of thiH 
lieantiful and prosperous county there is 

NO DION or WANT OB POT«BTT-- 

the ((uaint pinching poverty so often met with 
ill the populous and overcrowded districts of the 
older States. There is plenty to eat and plenty 
of 

WOBK FOB KVKBVBODT, 

and 80 cheap are the common comfortM of life, 
that on'.y the worthless and thriftlesii, or the aab- 



OBDKU I.ilVINO AND LAW BKHrKCTlNO 

population than that of Macon County. "The 
life they live" here is i|uiteas retiiH'd and ration- 
al as any phase of social and political life at the 
North. Whatever they did in the exciting and 
perilous years of the civil war. they are to-day 
an frank, liberal and cordial in their treatment 
of Northern people, and as ready to honor and 
appreciate every good i|uality in them as if they 
were "to the manor born." 

A HTBONO UNION HBNTIHKNT 

is everywhere apparent and dominant, and the 
old tlag floats as ]iroudly in all parts of Missouri 
as over Independence Hull. .Ml parties are agreed 



comer is not catechised as to his social ante- 
cedents or politics, but is estimated for what he 
is and what ho does. They don't care where a 
man hails from, so he be sensible and lioneet. 
They 

TAKK I'AUK OP TIIKIB C^BEDIT, 

as if it were their only "stock in trade." When 
a man's word ceases to be as good as his bond, 
hiH credit, business and standing are gone, and 
the loss of honorable prestige is not at all easy 
of recovery, A safflcient refutatiim of the charge 
that the people of this country are intolerant 
and proscriptive, is the fact that full half the 
population of the oonnty hail fr<im the Northern 




wm^ ^■^^^^^^^^^^^ 









-r^. 




"r 



i *..ti»,«f;:^^^/ 







■■lONEBB RTOCI FABM OF MAJ. W. A, MILCH, 12 MILBH NOBTII or MACON, 



ji«ts of bodily disability, are without the pos- 
-isaiiin of home and plenty. 

TUB 1'BOPI.B 

of Macon County 3<>,00l) strong are as int«Ui- 
i;ent, refined and hospitable as those of Ohio, 
Michigan or New England, and a more tolerant, 
appreciative, chivalrous community never under- 
tiMik the subjugation of a beautiful wilderness 
to noble human usejj. The writer liii'* passed 
half a dozen years in Central and NorlhiTii Mis 
souri. visiting the towns, inspecting the farms 
and herds, looking into the industrial life, re- 
viewing the sch<M>ls. and carefully observing the 
drift of (Hipular sentiment, and is pleased to 
affirm that there is nowhere in the I'oion a more 



that slavery is forever dead, and that its demise 
was a blessing to every prime interest of the 
ooantry. There is not a man of character in 
Maoon County who would restore the institution 
if he could. .K g<M>d majority of the early set- 
tlers of the county came from Kentucky and 
Virginia, or are diri>ctly descended from natives 
of those States, and have thedeliberaliim. frank- 
ness, giMHl sense, admiration of fair play, rever- 
ence for women and home, l>oundless hiHipilality, 
and strimg self respect for which |he average 
Kenlnckian and Virginian are proverbial. They 
have a habit of 

MINDINU TBBIB OWN BUSIMBM 

that is altogether refreshing to see. The new 



States, the Provinces and the British Islands: 
that Macon Coanly often elects Republican 
C4mnty ofliccrs. and that the government of its 
chief and capital city of Maoon is nearly always 
in the hands of the Republicans. The same is 
true of many other towns and coanties in Nor- 
thern Missouri. 

STBBLma CHAJLAOTBB 

finds as high appreciation here as in any country 
nnder the sun. The visitor is impressed with 
the large pro|H>rtion of strong men men of 
superior brain, culture and executive gifts, and 
other superb qualities, who would take rank in 
the highest walks of life in any community of 
civiluation. Maoon County has evidently drawn 



14 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



\ 



largely upou the best bluud, brain and experience 
of the older States. In every department of life 
may be found men and women of superior col- 
ttire, clear, well-balanced brain, broad views and 
rich experience in the best ways of the world, 
and the stranger who comes here expecting to 
place the good people of this county in his sha- 
dow, will get the conceit effectually taken out of 
him in about ninety days. They are 

NOT A BAGS OF BAUBABIANB, 

living a precarious sort of life in the bush, but a 
brave, magnanimous, intelligent, self-helpful and 
hospitable people, who, if their average daily 
life be sternly realistic in the practical ways of 
home building and bread-getting, have yet with- 
in and around them so much of the ideal that he 
is indeed a dull observer who sees not in their 
relations to the wealth of the grain fields, herds, 
grasses and coal measures, and the poetry of the 
sweet pastoral landscape, 

A nNION OF THE FBAOTIOAL AND IDEAL 

that is yet to make for them the perfect human 
life. They find time and inclination for 

FOUNDINO AND FOBTEBINO SCHOOLS, 

the love of books and flowers and art, the culti- 
vation of the social graces, and the building of 
temples to the spiritual and ideal. Macon County 
raises horses and mules and swine, fat steers, and 
the grain to feed the million, but is none the less 
a generous almoner of good gifts to her children. 
She has 

ONE HUNDBED AND TWENTY FBEB SCHOOLS, 

128 public school houses. 10,209 school children, 
and there is not a child of fortune or lowly birth 
within all her borders, without the advantages of 
a common English education. Ample provision 
is made for the higher education of her young 
men and women through the agency of a college, a 
military academy for boys, a seminary for girls, 
several parochial schools and graded high schools. 
The public morals are guarded and fostered by 
the presence and influence of 

FIFTY CHUBOUES, 

representing all the leading, and many of the 
minor denominations, and are nowhere displayed 
to better advantage than in the universal observ- 
ance of the Sabbath, and in the honest and 
economic adminstration of county affairs. 

TAXATION IS LIOHT 

by comparison with many of the older Eastern, 
debt-burdened communities: the nominal valua- 
tion of the real and personal estate of the county 
for taxable purposes, is about $0,000,000, or only 
a fourth of its real market value. Upon this 
nominal valuation the rate of taxation is less 
than one and a half cents on the f 100 of valua- 
tion. There are 

SEVEN FLOUBINO HILLS 

in the county, five of which have the finest 
modern equipment, including the roller process. 
The county has three banks, five weekly and two 
monthly newspapers. It is clearly no injustice 
to other portions of Missouri, to pronounce 
Macon 

ONE OF THE MODEL CODNTIEB. 

She has fine schools, light taxes, wonderful and 
unrivaled material resources, a splendid railway 
system, a brave, progressive, intelligent popula- 
tion, and presents an exhibit of moral, financial 
and material prosperity which challenges the 



admiration of all visitori. Naturally enough 
the reader will want to know something about 
the "shady side "' to this fair picture of material 
prosperity. Are there no 

DBAWBACKS 

to Macon County? Nothing to regret or criti- 



PBBJCDICE 

against the State, inspired by the late civil war 
and the still more unfortunate border war that 
preceded it. Both of these conflicts took the 
worst possible form in this State, especially on 
its western borders, where neighborhoods and 




ai5' 



MAOON OA8 AND klEOTBIO LIGHT CO. 



cise in the ways and work of the 30,000 people 
of this large county, or in the material condition 
of the country itself? Yes, there are drawbacks, 
and the candid journalist wiU not hesitate to 
give them to the numerous readers of this Hand- 
Book. As fairly noted in the preceding pages, 
Missouri has suffered incalculably from the un- 
founded and unreasonable 



even families were divided on the political issuesf 
of the struggle. The country was desolated bjr 
fire, pillage, murder and rapine. Bands of irre- 
sponsible and unprincipled ruffians on the one 
hand, militia men on the other, carried murder 
and plunder and the torch into every locality. 
The rougher elements of society were in the 
ascendency and good citizens of both sides were 




PUBHO SCHOOL, LA PLATTA. 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



15 



the chief noffererB. The oloae of the war foand the 
weHtern border infexted with bandii of vicioas 
nnd Tillainuag ootlaws, who for a time plied their 
vocation at the expeuxe of the beat men and 
interests of the conntry. When these were 
broken op and law, order and seonrity of life and 
property were once more supremo, political 
jonrnalH nnd demaKo^fues kept the State in a 
oontinaed foment by thi'ir extreme and onrea- 
Bonable utterances, which have been widely 
quoted in the older States, thereby creating an 
impression that life and property and personal 
rights were insecure, nnd that freedom of speech 
and action were denied to new comers from the 
North. While nothing is more foreign to the 
truth and all the higher amenities are vouch- 
safed to every citizen, these reports have done 
the country incalculable harm. Happily, the 
mists of prejudice are clearing away and this 
grand commonwealth is rapidly coming to be 
appreciated for its real worth. \ sufficient refu- 
tation of the charge that Missourinns nr • intol- 
erant and prescriptive, is found in the fact that 
Macon County is so evenly divided in politics, 
that the Republicans quite often secure the elec- 
tion of their cnndidntes for county offices nnd 
that the city of Macon is nearly always under 
Republican administration. The same is true of 
many other cities and counties: and political 
expression and action are as free nnd nntrnm- 
meled here as in any State of the Union. 

rBKB HOMESTKADS AND CHEAP B. B. LANDS 

in the new prairie States further west, have 
attracted hundreds of thousands of immigrants 
to the neighboring Slates west of Missouri, to 
the neglect and oversight of this finest of all the 
agricultural regions in the West. The 

WA.VT or PBOPBB ADVKBTISB9CBNT 

of the wonderful resources nnd advantages of 
Missouri by the State itself and by local county, 
city and district agencies, has left the great mass 
of Eastern and Northern people in ignorance of 
the real character of a country that offers to the 
capitalist and home-seeker a richer field of 
opportunity than any other country on the con- 
tinent. 

IXMMI AND StrriBnCUI. rABMINO 

is a serious drawback to the progress of the 
country. As in all comparatively new and half 
developed regions, the average farmer under- 
takes the cultivation of too much land. The 
labor needed for the thorough cultivation of 
forty or eighty acres is spread over KiO or .120 
acres, and the result is everywhere seen in shal- 
low plowing, careless seeding, unseasonable and 
wasteful harvesting, loose stacking, insecure 
storage of grain and wasteful feeding in the mud 
and slush. The average farmer "scratches" or 
"stirs" the ground three or four inches deep 
and dignifies it with the honored name of plow- 
ing. He begins his work out of season and 
carriee it forward to harvest and thrashing time 
in a "hamm-scarnm," slip-shod fashion, that in 
older, better cultivated lands wonld be considered 

A nrBLKSOl'B 

on good husbandry. That under such conditions 
he grows comparatively good crops nnd gets on 
in the world fairly well, is a high compliment to 
these rich soils and the friendly climate. It is 
safe to say that the waste from the above named 
oaoses, on the average Maoon Coanty farm of 
3(V) or 400 acres, would alone make a good in- 



come for the more thrifty and economic New 
England or Canadian farmer. No country in 
the world gives 



these silicious clays and marls, and that the time 
is near nt linnd when every pound of these splen- 
did fiTtilizers, now going to waste, will be needed 




i^'*^ 



^^>w^^/^5ja^>7j.^^^-- 



MA>^Ki MAM_tA' il J.iNcj Cf>. S WOKKN, MAros. 



BIGUEB SANCTIONS TO OOOD TABMINO 

thnn Macon County, whose thorough farmers are 
few, nnd whose greatest need to-doy is fi.OOO new 
farmers from the older States and Provinces, to 
thoroughly handle the 4,000 farms of this fine 
agricultural county. 

THE WASTE OE MANUBES 

is as unaccountable as it is general. Great 
masses of straw are thrashed and burned in the 
open fields. The rich deposits of the barn yard, 
public and private stables, are dumped into the 
nearest washout or ravine, and the droppings 
of the feed lots are washed into the streams; the 



in a higher order of husbandry. 

THE WASTE Or VALUABLE TIMBEB 

from the pioneer day down to the present, wonld 
put new homes and out -buildings on every farm 
in the county. Millions of feet of the finest 
walnut lumber have been cut and shipped out of 
the county for about the cost of cutting, con- 
verting and hauling. Thousands of thrifty 
young walnut trees have been split into common 
fence rails to enclose lands worth only $8 to $20 
per acre. The visitor may find walnut fences, 
barns, houses, sheds and pig troughs all over this 
county of noble forests, and he may nl"<> «<-e in 




owners of these invaluable deposits evidently 
anmindfiil of the fact that no soils in the world 
so well repay a dreasing of barn yard mannra aa 



the towns the same farmers that wrought the 
daetroction. buying walnut furniture from fao- 
loriae a thousand miles away, at figures that 



m 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



make them wonder. Cherry, linden, ash, maple, 
hickory and other valuable commercial woods 
have been destroyed with fjuite as little regard 
for the future, and while the older lands are in 
the throes of a timber famine, millions of royal 
oak are annually sold and shipped out of the 
county at nominal prices for railway ties, etc. 
The 

KKCK1.ESS EXP08UBE OF FABM MACHINEBT 

in this county would bankrupt the farmers of 
half a dozen New England counties in four years. 
The visitor in the country is rarely out of sight 
of reapers, mowers, seeders, plows, harrows, cul- 
tivators, rakes, wagons, smaller implements and 
even threshers and engines, left in the open field, 
by the wayside, in the fence corners, with no 
covering but the blue sky, and exposed to the 
trying winds and rains and sunshine until they 
are needed for further use. The loss from this 
source alone in a single season would build shel- 
ter for all the machinery in the county. The 
merciless 

EXP08UBE OF FLOCKS AND HEBDS 

to the storms of winter, by many of the more 
careless and improvident farmers, who furnish 
no artificial shelter, or at best, but the rudest 
kind of protection to their animals, and that too, 
in a country where the materials for sheds and 
stabling abound on every farm and ranch, is a 
violation of the simplest laws of ec(momy, not 
less than the kindly impulse that should impel 
every man to a decent care of the animal life in 
his keeping. There are 

TOO MANY mo FAUMS 

for the good of the overworked owners and the 
country. No man can thoroughly cultivate (>()(), 
l.(MM) or l.SIMI acres of land, any more than a 
country of homeless and landless tenants can be 



change would add vastly to the wealth and attrac- 
tions of this beautiful country, giving it the 
graces of art. manifold fruits of production, and 
universal thrift that attend every country of 
proprietary small farmers. There is vastly 

TOO MirCH SPECULATION 

too much ■■ dicker"- and too little thorough and 




lixtL^.. 



'. "^-^M^L^^^^^ 



MTY OF MIBSOUBI. 



consecutive work among a large class of Missouri 
farmers, for the benefit of thorough husbandry 
or economic farm life. I used to think the Yan- 
kees were the boss traders, but they are no more 
a match for these Missouri speculators than old 
Mother Partington's broom was a match for the 
sea. Half the farmers trade with the other half 
in live stock, lands, "options," town lots, jack- 
knives, old trumpery, or anything that has com- 
mercial value. Of course, the country is no richer 
for these transactions, for what one speculator 
makes is lost by another. This speculative ten- 
dency is a serious drawback to systematic, sea- 
sonable and successful farming, which can only 
be advanced by steady working, home loving 
men of strong local attachments. Nothing more 
surprises the Eastern visitor than the evident 

WANT OF APPBECIATION 

for their country, expressed by so many old and 
substantial farmers of this region. Half of them 
want to sell out and go to Kansas, Texas. Colo- 



woold be very likely to give these nneasy and 
unsettled men a spirit of happy content with 
their present homes and surroundings. 

THE 8CABCITT OF FABM LABOB 

is apparent to the most superficial observer. 
The negroes, who did most of the farm work, 
under the old compulsory system, have gone 
almost solidly into the towns, and are no longer 
a considerable factor in the farm labor problem. 
Many of the more active and industrious young 
men have gone further West for government 
land. The professional common farm hand has 
generally acquired the easy slip-shod habits of 
the slave labor system, and is at best a poor sub- 
stitute. A thousand good reliable farm hands, 
accustomed to the thorough, earnest, systematic 
and thrifty vays of farm life in New England. 
Pennsylvania, New York and Canada, would 
prove a bonanza to the 1,0(K) leading farmers of 
Macon County. There are other and minor 
drawbacks, but like those already named, they 
do not inhere to the country, are only incidental, 
and will be easily corrected by time and immi- 
gration, and by higher land values. The need 
of the day and location is 

THIBTY THOUSAND NEW SETTLEB8 

to aid in the development of a county which can 
sustain a rural population of one hundred thou- 
sand souls, and has productive capacity great 
enough to feed the people of one of the smaller 
New England States. The four thousand farms 
in this county could with profit be divided into 
double the number. Not more than half the 
county is yet under tribute to the plow, and there 
is room for half as many more new farms in the 
unbroken woods and prairies. There is 

BOOM AND OPPOBTUNITY 

for one thousand skilled dairymen and women to 




ST. AONES HALL A YOl'NO LAUIKS UOABDINQ SCHOOL, MACON. 



permanently prosperous, and the sooner these 
broad, unwieldy estates are broken into small 
farms and thoroughly cultivated by owners in 
fee-simple, the better it will be for land values, 
good husbandry, society, schools, highways, trade 
and every vital interest of the country. Such a 



rado. Southern California. Oregon, or some other 
immigrant's Utopia, unconscious that they are 
living in one of the most favored regions upon 
the green earth. A month's tour of some of the 
older States, followed by a trip of critical obser- 
vation in the new prairie and mountain States. 



found and operate new creameries and private 
butter and cheese dairies all over the county. 
Room for two thousand fruit growers to plant 
orchards and vineyards, and grow fruit along 
these railway lines for the Western and Northern 
markets. Room for five thousand small farmers 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOlMtF. 



from the xterile hillH u( Now Kiigliiud, N't-w York, 
PeniiHylvaniB and Ohio, tu cultivate itiimll fariiiH 
and divvrxify liUMbniidrv. Kooin for one tliou- 
Hand I'nterpriitinK farm Imndn from tlio name and 
other States tu Holve the farm labor |irot>leni in 
a country where k***'^ labor ■!< ttcarce and wages 
high. R(M)ni for thou;>and!< of inanufaoturerH 
and skilled artisauit to found and operate half a 
hundred new mechanical induBlries at Macon, La 
riala. and other towns. Room for "everybody 
and all " that have nerve and industry, and good 
working gifts for the early development of this 
fair and fertile country. There is 

NO BOOM rou MOHSUACKH 

who believe in Concord stage coaches, coon skin 
currency and shadbelly pigs, in a land where the 



iug (|ualities, this country offers a splendid Held 
for the exercise of their gifts. For such, there is 

A HI'I.ENI>IU ri'TUHE 

of competence, comfort and manly independ- 
ence, Farming is done with half the labor re- 
quired in the older States. The climate is de- 
lightful, the soils are inexhaustible, the grasses 
are unrivalled, and the waters are ]>ure. Macon 
County is no dreary waste, from which men may 
turn with a sense of loneliness and desolation, 
for its fields are as fair as the plains of Lom- 
bardy: its valleys as lovely as the fabled Kden, 
and the sunlight falls upon its matchless land- 
scape as softly as on the limpid waves of Na|>les' 
Bay. For the idealist it has poetry, and for the 
sterner materialist rich fields of conquest. It 



farm homes. It stands at the junction of the 
Wabash and Hannibal A Rt.Joe Railways, seventy 
miles west of the Mississippi Hiver. ir>(i miles 
east of Kansas City, and 171 miles northwest of 
St. Louis, and has so many features of interest 
to the nonresident reader, that I shall be quite 
excusable for giving some of them in detail. 
The city stands upon a line, commanding eleva- 
tion; has 

I'KUrEOT NATUKAI. DEAINAOK 

from a series of draws and ravines; abounds in 
living wells, which give an excellent water sup- 
ply: is handsomely platted and tastefully and 
substantially built, and, from end to end, is 

A DCAUTirt'L TBKB-EMBOWKIiED CITY. 

whose broad streets and avenoes, deeply shaded 




"canncm ball" and "lightning" express daily 
sweep down the valleys for Chicago, St. Louis 
and Kansas City, and where every movement in 
local development is a token of our genial, ad- 
vancing, latter day civilization. 

NO BlMm rOB IiBKAMKBS AMD LOUMOBBM 

of the (Misy going, impractical, sentimental school, 
for they will get jostled out of position, and lose 
their bearings in this country of live, rustling, 
advancing men. There is no room for lawyers, 
doctors, clerks and bookkeepers, for their ranks 
are already full of experienced and capable men. 
Fine haired, high t<med Eastern people, who are 
conceited enough to believe they can overshadow 
everything and everybody about them, will find 
an uncongenial and unapprecialive people in this 
country, and had bt-st stay where they are. For 
men of eonrage, sense, ambition and good work 



is a great destiny to live in a land where .\ polio 
might tend his flocks, and Sappho turn dairy- 
maid, singing her sweet songs in the shadows of 
the green hills a land where the practical and 
ideal unite to make the perfect human life. 

To the foregoing general notes on Macon 
Cimnty, I am pleased to add a brief review of the 
more important towns. 

THE rlTT or MArON, 

the capital and chief commercial town of the 
county, was first settled in 1852, by James T. 
Haley, and was formally organized and platted 
as a town in l»Mi. It is 

ADMIBABLT LOCATED 

(m the high divide between the Chariton and 
Salt Rivers, in the midst of n ' nd highly 

productive farm country, i:. • 1 with de- 

lightful woodlands, fruitful orchards and pretty 



blue grass lawns, pretty cottages and elegant 
mansion homes, handsome churches, fine school 
houses, substantial mills, factories and elevators, 
and fine suburban drirea, are "all and singular" 
a compliment to the good taste, culture and en- 
terprise of the 

riVE mot'SAKD I'KOI'I.E 

within its borders. Macon is the creation of two 
trunk railway lines, a splendid tributary country, 
and a brave, resolute, enterprising and progres- 
sive people. The tributary country, when fully 
. developed, will take care of a city of lO.mX) souls, 
and snch a consummation is "manifest destiny" 
to Macon. The two competing railway lines, 
which crntu each other here at right angles, gave 
it 1 ■ from the ' The old North 

Mi- iroad was <- '•> this point in 

I8.VJ, leaving this city the lerminas for some 



18 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



time. The Hannibal & St. Joe came to Macon 
in 1858, and in 1863 Macon was made the 
county seat. 

A BAILWAT CENTEB 

from the start, and early the capital of a great 
county, nothing coold stay the progress of the 
town, saye only material desolation. It is cen- 
tral to Northeastern Missouri, and surrounded 
by enormously rich coal measures, is bound to 
become at an early day a railway town of no 
mean magnitude. The Moberly. Macon & Ut- 
tumwa Division of 

THE WABASB. BT. LOUIS & PACIFIC 

gives the city direct connections with the entire 
railway system of Iowa, the great Northwest 
and Chicago, on the one hand, and St. Louis. 
Kansas City and the Southwest, on the other. 

THE HANNIBAL & ST. JOSEPH BAILWAT, 

now a part of the C, B. &. Q. system, connects 
with Chicago on the east, and Kansas City on 
the west, giving all the advantages of the great 
systems at these centers. 

THE BT. LOUIS & OMAHA, 

a line recently projected between these import- 
ant cities, will soon add materially to the trans- 
portation facilities of a city whose coal mines 
will soon enough attract hither branches from 
the Santa Fe; Chicago, Milwaukee <t St. Paul; 
Chicago t Alton, and the Rock Island systems, 

A MOTOB LINE 

will be laid from Macon, five miles west to Be- 
vier, where 1200 people are engaged in, or in 
some way interested in. coal mining. No town 
in Missouri is so richly environed with coal 
fields, and none has 

MANDFACTUBING ADVANTAGES 

superior to Macon. Cheap coals, cheap wood, 
cheap lumber and the railway facilities to dis- 
tribute the products of the mill and factory all 
over the Western country, make this an eligible 
and desirable point for the manufacture of every 
species of farm machinery, wagons, carriages, fur- 
niture, mill stuffs, wooden ware, novelties in 
wood, iron, steel and paper, machines, castings, 
cotton and woolen goods, preserved frails and 
vegetables, and many other 
things in common use. 

A OOOD BEOINNING 

has already been made in 
some of these lines of indus- 
trial work. Two roller pro- 
cess flouring mills are run to 
full capacity on merchant 
milling. A broom factory is 
in successful operation and is 
on the eve of enlargement. 

IIIE MACON OAS AND ELEOTBIC 
LIGHT CO. 

have one of the most perfect 
gas plants in the State, and 
will next season put in one 
of the most complete and 
perfect electric light systems 
in the country. 

THE MACON FOUNDBY AND 
MACHINE WOBKS. 

established in 18lS(). by .Mr. 
K. P.ilfrey. a practical ma 
chinist. employs a large force 
of skilled mechanics, in the 







TIMES OFFICE, MACi'N 

manufacture of all classes of coal mining ma- 
chinery, steam power threshing outfits, engines, 
boilers, and kindred foundry and machine work, 
including ration's adjustable ratchet bar and 
bracket store shelving irons, which have a wide 
sale throughout the I'nited States, and large 
quantities of which are manufactured here for 
the Western trade. Mr. Palfrey is driven to the 
full capacity of his works; speaks very confi- 
dently of the future, and says Macon is a very 




favorable point for manufacturing. The 

MACON BOLLEB MILLS. 

built in 1875. as burr mills, with a daily capac- 
ity of twenty-five barrels, were enlarged to fifty 
barrel-mills in 1877, and in 1882 the present 
owners, Messrs, Moore, McCnllongh A Co., took 
charge of the mills, and a year later pot in n 
full roller process equipment, further increas- 
ing their capacity to one hundred barrels per 
day. The rapid increase in their business 
necessitated a later increase of their flour- 
making capacity to 125 barrels a day. nearly 
lUlof which is consumed in this county. These 
mills, which are under the immediate supervi- 
sion of Mr. J. P. Moore, are equipped with 
the most perfect modern flour-making ma- 
chinery, employ from eight to ten hands the 
year round, have a high reputation for their 
products, and rank with the most important 
industrial concerns of the city. 

THE MASSEY WAGON CO., 

E. McKee. President; S. G. Brock, Vice-Presi- 
dent; E. A. Hanson. Secretary and Treasurer, 
and John Massey. Superintendent, have a large 
three story brick factory, and employ from 
twenty to forty hands in the manufacture of 
spring, farm, road and log wagons, buggies, 
carriages, phietons and surreys. They have a 
capacity of 2.000 wagons a year, and have 
made a fine reputation for superior work, 
which finds a ready sale all over North Mis- 
souri. A good number of their workmen have 
homes and families in the city, and the amount 
of cash paid these mechanics, and otherwise 
expended for timber, coal and other mater- 
ials produced in the county, is a strong factor 
in the sum of local prosperity, bot h in town and 
country. The abundance of superior coal and 
timber in this county gives the company a de- 
cided advantage over rival factories, and this 
fact, together with the high character of their 
work, has so largely increa.sed the demand for 
all classes of vehicles, that extensive additions 
must soon be made to their present buildings 
and machinery. Mr. Massey says there is no 
more favorable location than Macon, for the 
manufacture of all classes of machinery, and it 
is not unlikely that the suc- 
cess of this institution will 
influence the location of other 
equally valuable enterprises 
at this point. Their works 
are admirably equipped with 
the most approved machin- 
ery, and. like the machine 
shops and foundry, are an 
honor to the city. 

A creamery, vinegar and 
apple butter factory are in 
successful operation. A to- 
bacco factory, for the manu- 
facture of plug and smoking 
tobaccos, from the superior 
plant grown in this county, 
is one of the noteworthy in- 
dustries of the city, employ- 
ing a large force of hands in 
the season of handling. There 
are other minor industries 
here, but the nolewiirlhy feat 
ures of the location are the 

FINE OFEMNOS 

for manufacturing enter- 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



1« 



prise. A spoke fnctury would &uil ii b<miiu/.H in 
thftjio SueHecoud growth oak and hickory foreata. 
Axe htflveH, and kindrod ^oodx. would innko n 
fortune for a live fnctory ninn. A tile factory 
and pottery are both greatly needed here, and, 
in good liandK. would prove a fortune. There 
is a fine opening for a plow factory, and no time 
should be lost in securing coking ovens for the 
fine coking coals near the city. They 

l-AN MA.NtirxCTUUE ANTTUINO I-BOFITABLT 

that depends upon cheap coals, cheap wood, cheap 
timber, cheap clays, cheap transportation, cheap 
living, and a splendid outlying market, for tliey 
are all here at the command of anybody that has 
experience and capital for the work. Maom is 
not given exclusively to pride of her material 
wealth and ]>rospcctM. She has 

EDUOATIONAI. AUVANTAOES 

of a high order, and fosters them with commend- 
able spirit and liberality. Few towns of this 



a very competent corps of instructors, is an 
honor to the city, the church, the State, and 
especially to the scholarship and rare managerial 
gifts of the president, Kev. J. R. Harding and 
his assistants. The school is in high repute at 
home and throughout the State, and has a strong 
and growing patronage. 

ST. AONKS UALL. 

a boarding school for girls, is also under the 
auspices of the Episcopal Church. It lias fine 
buildings and grounds; is admirably appointed 
and oinduoted. and from base to attic, has the 
air of a delightful, well ordered home. Mrs. L. 
A. Smith, the principal, and a lady of rare gifts 
and graces in this line of work, is ably assisted 
by accomplished instructors in literary, musical, 
art and other departments of a very complete 
course of study, and the "Hall" is <me of the 
best girls" boarding schools in Northwestern 
Missouri. 



Rcichel. Treasurer, and Theo. Gary, Secretary. 

TUB MACOM FAIB ABSOCIATIOB, 

under the management and ownership of F. A. 
Dessert, President, and W. 1'. Dessert, Secretary, 
with its neighboring grounds, race track and 
spirited annual exhibitions, is a noteworthy feat- 
nre of the city. The 

LOCAL J017BNALH 

are square up to the dignity and demands of the 
day and location. The Timn, a Democratic 
journal, which recently won the gold medal of 
the Missouri State Press .\s9ocistion, for its ad- 
mirable make-up and ty^iographical finish, is 
edited and published by J. A. Hudson. It has 
the widest circulation of any country journal in 
North Missouri, is edited with marked ability, 
and is an influential exponent, not <mly of Dem- 
ocratic principles and policy, but of every good 
and progressive enterprise in Macon City and 
Coanty. The Titnea bailding and office, recently 




class in the Western country can boast of more 

AOHIBAULK PrBLK' Hrn<M>LH 

than this bright progressive city, whose public 
schiK>l system includes a model high school, the 
most thorough discipline, advanced methods, 
high standards and good scholarship known to 
the common school system of Missouri. The 
general ni»ru/« of the sch(»ols, under the able 
supervision of Prof. A. E. Wardner and a dozen 
assistants, is creditable alike to the instructors 
and the city. The Catholic and Lutheran paro- 
chial schools are s|H>ken of in the hit;lii'>t terms. 
In higher academic work, the 

ST. JAMBH MILITABT ArAHKUT 

holds an enviable positiim. It was founded by 
Bishop Talbot, is the only boarding schiwl for 
boys under control of the Episcopal Dioct>se of 
.Missouri, and with its fine buildings, grounds and 
dormitories; its thorough social, military, inathe- 
raaticol, literary, mosical and art training, under 



KKMiMM.- IKKK VIEW KAUM. 



THE rBATBB»lTIKM 

embrace a Masonic blue lodge, chapter and com- 
mandery; a lodge and encampment of t)dd Fel- 
lows: a lodge and uniform rank of the Knights 
of Pythias; a lodge of the Ancient Order of I'nited 
Workmen: a stnmg post of the (irand Army; 
lodges of Knights and Ladies of Himor; Triple 
Alliance and Chosen Friends; a Library Associa- 
tion, Chatnui|ua Circle, social clubs, etc. 

TUB MAI'ON UI'ILDl.HO A.ND LOAM ASSOCIATION, 

organized in the spring of ItUiA, by Th«). (iary, 
has bad a marked influence upon the growth and 
proaperity of the oily, and. as a financial venture, 
baa beaten the most suooeuful savings banks of 
tbe oountry. Its sixth semiannual statement, 
made in July. lH<itt. shows a total of $37,334.04 
in available remiurces, with an exhibit of net 
gains that is a high compliment to the financial 
and executive gifts of its secretary and board of 
directors. J. A. Hudson is President; Oeo. P. 



destroyed by fire, was one of the moat complete 
newspaper and job printing offices in the inter- 
ior of the State, and Mr. Hudson, who has already 
begun the erection of a handsome new building 
on the ruins of the old one, has purchased a new 
office outfit, with steam power press, and will 
soon be running one of the finest and most com- 
plete newspaper and job printing establishments 
in the interior of tbe State. 

The Krpuhlican, a Republican journal of de- 
cid(>d ability and influence, and for many years 
one of the foremost advocates of Kepulilicanlam 
in Northern Missouri, is ably conducted by U. C. 
Bnflington, as editor and publisher. Maj. S. U. 
Ilrock, for many years one of its editors and pub- 
lishers, and now mayor of the city, still con- 
tributes more or less to the lirpuliltran, which, 
like its neighbor, recently lost a very complete 
and valuable otiire by fire. This journal, tfm, 
will soon put on a handsome new drvwi, and eon- 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



tinne to hold its high position in 
the Republican newspaper ranks 
of North Missouri. 

The Democrat, a Democratic 
newspaper, published and edited 
by Harry Howard, with Dr. T. 
J. Norris as associate editor, is 
one of the rising Democratic 
journals in this division of the 
State, has a fine patronage, a 
large and fine office, with power 
press, and is ably conducted. 

The Messenger of Peace, a Bap- 
tist monthly, edited and pub- 
lished by J. £. Goodson and J. 
E. Goodson, Jr., is creditable 
alike to the culture and ability 
of its conductors, and clearly 
'• fills a niche" in Western jour- 
nalism. It is the only Primitive 
Baptist journal in the Missis- 
sippi Valley, and has a large cir- 
culation and corresponding in- 
fluence in the denomination. 

Macon is 

A 8TB0NG COMMEBCIAL TOWN, 

ranking in this respect with the 
foremost cities in the interior of 
the State. It is central to a rich 
farm region, reaching west forty 
miles to Brookfield; thirty-five miles north to 
Kirksville; twenty-five miles east to Shelbina and 
tweuty-two miles south to Moberly. Within all 
this splendid radius are agricultural and coal min- 
ing resources, great enough to support a city of 
10,000 souls and with the present rate of develop- 
ment, the years are not distant when it will have 




MO KEE AND SMITH BUILDINO, MAOON. MO. 

compassed such a consummation. It is every 
year becoming more and more the centre of the 
vast coal mining interests of this notably rich 
coal basin, and the building of the proposed 
motor line from this point to Bevier, the coming 
year, will contribute largely to this desirable end. 
The city already has 



FIPTT SOI.ID BTTSINESS 00N0KBN8, 
whose stock in trade, high com- 
mercial standing and metropoli- 
tan methods would honor a 
much larger town. The yearly 
trade of these concerns in dry 
goods, clothing, general merch- 
andise, boots and shoes, hard- 
ware, farm machinery, lumber 
and building materials, seeds, 
hay, live stock, grain, mill stuffs, 
wagons, carriages, and other 
goods made on the spot, reaches 
a grand total of 

NEABLY TWO MILLION DOLLAB8, 

and is steadily increasing with 
the growth of the country. Sev- 
eral of the leading houses have 
successful branches in neighbor- 
ing towns, and with the growth 
of local manufacturing and the 
extension of railway facilities, it 
is not unlikely that a substantial 
jobbing trade will be built up 
here. The leading business men 
and property owners have 

UNFALTEEINO FAITH IN THE 
FUTUBE 

of the city, and while it has 
never had a speculative boom, 
bnt is rather the outgrowth of steady material 
and commercial development, they are now 
resolutely marshalling the splendid forces at 
their command, and will turn thera to capital 
uses in building up a city worthy of themselves 
and the location. 

8TBONO MEN LEAD 




hMiitt. .M, \ f.\ .V CO. s UL<»OK. CHILLIi-'v'i UK. .Mi 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



•Jl 



in every di'|mrtment of local life men of di8ci- 
pline, experience and fine executive gifts, in 
wlioso hands the building of the new Mncon will 
be carried to n splondid isKuo. TheKtendy march 
of material and conimeroial prugreKM in thin 
solid and progressive city, is admirably displayed 
in the fine establishments of several of the load- 
ing merchants, notably the large dry goods 
houses of Messrs. McKet' it Smith and J. I). Hail, 
and the clothing house of Mr. I. ('. Stephens, 
where heavy stocks are displayed with the method 
and elegance that stamp the proprietors as real 
mercantile artists, trained in the best ways of 
trade, like men who pursue commerce as an art 
to l>e cultivated, rather than a mere speculative 
venture. \ brief description of one of these 



the increasing list of examples of woman's capa 
city and usefulness in the management of public 
alTairs. 

The same firm under the title of Smith, MoVoy 
t Co., erected, last scoson, another mercantile 
building in Chillicothe, Mo., a view of which is 
also given. As shown by our artist, this building 
is a decided novelty for a mercantile house, and 
was designed by Mr. G. C. Clarck. a well known 
St. Louis architect. It is (S0xl2() feet upon the 
ground, elaborately finished, heated by steam 
and lighted by electricity, and is a fine illustra- 
tion of the rapid growth of this porti<m of a 
commonwealth, now the fourth in rank and des- 
tined at no distant day to claim the colors in the 
grand march of the sisterhood of States. The 



builder and manager. 

THK MAOON CBKAMUIT, 

which was omitted in my industrial notes of the 
city, belongs tu a class of industries that need 
more encouragement, and should be multiplied 
an hundredfold in this country of peerless 
grasses. The Macon Creamery, operated by J. 
.1. Davis ,1- Co., has a daily capacity of l.MN) 
pounds and under its present management a 
yearly output of about $2U,(H)() worth of standard 
butt«r, which is all marketed in New York. This 
6rm also handle butter, eggs, wool, bides and 
tallow to the extent of $10(),<nk) annually. They 
have groat faith in the creamery l>usiness for 
this region, and get their supply of cream within 
a dozen miles of the city. 







-■i^^<^'mti''^^y 






GLKM EUKM STOCK FABM Or J. T. UIUCKKLI., 2} ^ MILIH NOKTU OF MACOM. 



houses will give the reader a fair impression of 
the general character and management of other 
omcerns in leading lines of local trade. 

At the head of Vine Street, as shown by our 
artist, stands the handsome store of McKeo i 
Smith, 4.'>xin(l feet on the ground. It is solidly 
built: has a fine interior finish in Texas hard and 
curly pine, and a superli plate glass front of 
unique and beaut ifol design, and like a gem upon 
a lady's finger, adorns the handsome avenue 
upon which it is located. The Public Library 
i>ccupies a suite of rooms in the second story of 
this building. This library, which has now upon 
its shelves about Kxiit volumes, was established 
last year through the efforts of a few public- 
spirited and intelligent ladies of the city, who 
still continue its management, adding another to 



firm of McKee i Smith, and Fred F. Hawley i 
Co. of .Macon, and Smith, McVey * Co. and 
Hawley i Co. of Chillicothe. are all composed of 
the same gentlemen, all veterans of twenty-five 
yeors service in North Missouri trade, and rank 
ing men in the liusiness circles of the two solid 
and prosperous cities up<m which they have left 
the impress of their mercantile gifts and unsel- 
fish public spirit. Macon has 

Tinm iioTBL rAOTunm 
for a city of her class. The Palace Hotel, ime of 
the best of the later improvements of the city, 
is one of the really fine hotels of North Missouri, 
and its capacity, style and finish w<iuld honor a 
city of IIIMMII) souls. It belongs to the list of 
well conducted hotels in this division of the 
State, and is highly creditable to the city, the 



Macon presents 

A (Ai-ITAI. riBLD rOB INVXSTIfBNT. 

Speculative values have never obtained here. 
Real estate is bought and sold on ita intrinsic 
merit, and commercial values seem decidedly low 
by comparison with the so-called booming towns 
further west. In the light of the general wealth 
and prosperity of the county, the enormous crops 
of the present season, the rapid development in 
coal mining, the growing public confidence in 
Missoari. the steady and growing movement of 
immigration and capital into the State, and 
above all. the certainty that Macon is to liecome 
a formidable manufacturing and trade centre, no 
city in the State, or for that matter in the West, 
offers more to the investor than this same City 
of Macon this beautiful tree-embowered citj of 



22 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



the coal fields and the Grand Divide. If city 
property and rents do not double within the 
next two or three year.s, it will be the fault of the 
citizens themselves, for the conditions are ripe 
for 

A BIO FOBWABD MOVEMENT 

that should have no abatement until Macon is a 
city of 10,000 people. The forces to impel such 
a growth are now at the command of the men at 
the helm, and only unity and will-directed work 
are needed to carry Macon up to a commanding 
position among the cities of Missouri. To these 
notes on the city, I am pleased to add a brief 
ontline of some of the neighboring farms and 
farmers. 

CHEVIOT PLACE, 

the 170 acre suburban farm and home of Thomas 
Jobson, lying just on the eastern border of the 
city, is a handsome place, subdivided into ten to 
forty acre fields, well fenced with wire and picket 
enclosures, and watered by five living wells and 
by artificial ponds. It is improved with a hand- 
some home, beautiful well-shaded lawns, a group 
of convenient and well-built barns, sheds, stables, 
granary, small outhouses, feed lots, a good 
orchard and other appointments of a well-ordered 
farm, and is devoted mainly to stock raising, the 
chief attraction being a superior herd of fifty 
thoroughbred short-horns, representing several 
of the more popular families. Mr. Jobson has 
also some good horses and mules, puts up 130 
tons of hay, and, as the accompanying view 
shows, has Cheviot Place in capital order, and is 
evidently at home on this pleasant and highly 
improved farm. He has been thirty years in 
this country, was formerly connected with the 
Hannibal <k St. Joe railway, and later a well- 
known manufacturer of Macon; has recently 
been mining coal quite extensively, and is thor- 
oughly pleased with the country. 

THE FOX PLACE, 

a pretty little sixty acre farm, half a mile from 
the city limits, is all under cultivation and im- 
proved with good hedge fences, a comfortable 
five room cottage and large bearing orchard, and 
is well watered by wells and ponds. It is all 
highly productive prairie land, only a quarter 
mile from school, and is owned by Mrs. R. A. 
Fox. It is a choice place for a suburban home, 
and is for sale by Theo. Gary on reasonable 
terms. Two and a half miles north of the city is 
the handsome 280-acre 

OLEN-EDEN 

farm and home of J. F. Brickell. It is graceful 
prairie and woodland, admirably drained and 
finely watered by streams, ponds, several wells 
and cisterns, and embraces forty acres of fine 
walnut, hickory and oak timber. Mr. Brickell 
has 200 acres under cultivation and has the place 
all well fenced with five miles of rail, plank, wire 
and hedge fence, and divided into ten to eighty 
acre fields, and further improved with a fifteen 
acre orchard, mostly in bearing with choice 
fruits, mainly standard winter varieties. He has 
good buildings and finely cultivated fields; grows 
from 2,000 to 4,000 bushels of corn, from 400 to 
•UM) bushels of wheat, and about the same quan- 
tity of oats; puts up 160 tons of hay and feeds 
his coarse grains and hay on the farm. He keeps 
ninety head of high grade cattle, feeds fifty 
prime steers and half as many heavy pigs, keeps 
twenty well bred Norman-Morgan horses, of 



which one-third are choice brood mares, and 
breeds to his own handsome stallion "Tom 
Allen." Mr. Brickell purchased this farm eigh- 
teen years ago, mostly in a wild state and has 



the finest places in the county. It is a combin- 
ation of rolling timber and prairie land, with 
rich dark loamy soil, and is abundantly watered 
by two cisterns, three living wells, and fine large 




D. D. KOWLAND & BBOS. STOUE, BEVIES. 



put it in a high state of improvement. He is a 
model farmer, "has a place for everything and 
keeps everything in its place," says this is a 
royal country for mixed farming and the finest 
grass country of his knowledge. Mr. Brickell is 
without farm help, and has placed one half of 
this handsome property in the hands of Theo. 
Gary for sale on very liberal terms. It is near 
two school houses, has a rich black loam soil, 
and two dwellings, and can be divided into two 



ponds, all equipped with the owners " Patent 
Spring Pond," a self watering process, for all 
classes of stock. Cedar Grove has 200 acres of 
woodland well set in blue grass, 120 acres in 
meadow, about 40 acres in corn and oats and 330 
acres in blue grass pasture. It is improved with 
a beautiful $3,000 home. ^3,000 barns, plenty of 
smaller out buildings and a twelve acre orchard; 
has seven miles of post and rail and barbed wire 
fence, dividing the place into fifty acre fields; 




'.jktt.PjWSiirjA'^6cU*^//Uh^i 



VIEW or THE LITTLE PITXSBUBO COAL AMI) MINI.NO CO. S MINE AT LINOO. 

desirable farms. Mr. Gran. W. Draper's ."iOO and is a fine type of the handsomely improved, 

acre methodically conducted stock farm. Mr. Draper 

rEDAB OBovE STOCK FAKM I has the farm stocked with well bred mares, 

three and a half miles north of the city, is one of I mnles, horses, Poland-China pigs and short-horn 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



23 



I'litllc. iiiiiuii){ the litttiT tiiH well kuiiuii 

OKDAB GBOTK IIKBD 

of thorouKli-hred short horns, eiuhrncinn nbout 
forty hend of Buperbly bred mid finely fiiithioned 
imiiniilH of the Imp. Yountj Mary. Imp. Mis» 
.Mott nnd Princess fmiiilies, worth ii day's jour- 
ney to gee. He also breeds pure Polnnd-China 
pi|;R and riyraonth Rock fowls, nnd has made a 
decided success of stock farniing. He has paid 
for moHl of the farm nnd improvements out of 
the soil nnd (jrnsses, nnd is evidently a born 
farmer iind stockman. He be^an hero without a 
dollar or farm experience, has nccumulnted this 
fine eatnte. is out out of delit, '• pnys ns ho goes," 
is high sherifT of the county, nnd believes this 
the finest country for enterprising men on the 
fnce of the green earth. Another of the model 
places of Macon county is Mr. B. F. Coulter's 2(K) 
ncre 

KXCBUIOB TABM, 



under good fence, has M(H) acres in cultivntiim 
and is improved with a large fine home, three 
largo barns, a fine group of smaller outbuildings, 
ten Miileg of rnil nnd hedge fences, n good or- 
chnrd. plenty of cisterns, wells nnd ponds, nnd a 
running stream. Mr. Thrasher has •.'<)() acres in 
blue grass pasture, puts up lUMI nnd 4(Ht tons of 
timothy hny: feed.s about two cnr loads of prime 
steers nnd n cnr load of hcnvy pigs: keeps thirty 
well-bred horses, of which twenty are choice 
brood mares; has eight jennies, two jacks and a 
model .Morgan stallion, and annually raises about 
twenty mules. Mr. Thrasher is a successful, rep- 
resentative, thorough stock farmer, has one of 
the model farms of the county, and is delighted 
with this country. Hon. I'eyton Y. Hurt's 400 
acre 

FAIBVIKW FABM. 

five miles south of Callao, is noteworthy for its 
fltie general character and improvements. It is 



eight miles of La I'lntn. It is a beautiful body 
of smooth woodland and prairie, dipping gently 
toward a branch of Salt River, by which it is 
watered; is further watered by cisterns, living 
wells and ponds, nnd has ItK) acres in woodland 
pasture, well stocked in blue grass, the balance 
being all in grass, excepting forty ncres, which 
is devoted to grain. The farm is superbly fenced 
with rail, hedge nnd wire, is eijuipped with 
su|>erior gates, and divided into convenient fields, 
and is further improved with a fine orchard, a 
good homo, a fino large barn, smaller bams, sheds, 
stables and other convenient outbuildings, a 
beautiful blue grass lawn, and other appoint- 
ments of a model farm. Maj. Miles keeps his 
farm in perfect order, and is one of the thorough, 
systematic, progressive farmers of the county. 
He grows fifty bushels of corn to the ncre, cuts 
LW to '200 tons of timothy hay, nnd devotes his 
place to stock raising, his 







: r _j^c 'J ■ 



located eight miles south of Macon and two miles 
north of Jacksonville. It is improved with a fine 
two story frame house. Inrge frame barn, and n 
group of gofid minor out-houses; is all well fenced 
into forty-aoro fields nnd all in meadow and pas- 
ture grasses; hns a good orchard nnd wood lot; 
is ninply wntered with cisterns, six ponds and 
four wells, and from end to end i" n model of 
neatness and method. Mr. Coulter is one of the 
progressive, enterprising, representative farm- 
ers of the wmnty, handles Clydesdale horses and 
short horn cattle, has made the bulk of a fine 
estate out of the soils and grasses of Mncon 
county, and holds the country in high esteem, 
rhe 

MAI'I.B IIBOVK STOCK FABM 

( Benjamin R. Thrasher, 1.000 ncres in extent. 

lid located n dn/en miles southen»l of Macon 

Hid fiiur miloii southwest of Clarence, is one of 

til' ites in Macon county. It is nil 



MT'IBKR AMD lOB BOmKH. BF.VIMi 

mostly rolling prairie, embraces sixty acres of | 
timber, hns a rich, dnrk, loamy soil and is im- I 
proved with fine board nnd rail fences: a large 
two-story frame house: two Inrge barns nnd 
plenty of smaller outbuildings; is well watered 
with wells, cisterns and ponds, and is one of the 
premium farms of Macon county. Judge Hurt 
devotes this handsome place mainly to the breed- 
ing and raising of mules; is one of the ablest 
fanners in the county: hns given each of his 
children n good farm: is getting pnst the work- 
ing age, has plenty of worldly fortune, which he 
has made out of mules, tobacco and good busi- 
ness management in Mncon county, and desir 
ing to remove to the city, has plnc«d his farm on 
the market through the agency of Mr. Theo. 
Oary. Another of these royal Mastm county 
farms, is Major \V. A. Miles' •lOO acre 

PIOHBBB STOCK FABM. 

located twelve miles North of Macon, and within 



PIOXBKB UEKI> 

of thoroughbred short horns, embracing about 
fifty Daisies, Floras, Rubys, Annabellee. Rose of 
Bharon and White Rose animals led by a model 
Rose of Sharon bull from the famous Renic herd 
of Winchester. Ky. It is one of the finest herds 
in the country, alike for style and breeding, and 
an honor to the owner and county. Mnj. Miles 
also breeds pure Berkshire pigs, has a fine l>unch 
of high grnde shorthorns and a string of choice 
br<M>d mares, and is one of the most careful 
painstaking breeders and successful stockmen in 
the county. He believes in grass and stock 
farming, and pronounces Macon County the 
finest grass and stock county of his knowledge. 
Maj. .Miles is well advanced in years; hn» pro 
vided all his children with g<M>d farms, is without 
a I ' r. nnd offers this noble estate for 

■nl- i the Macon agency of Theo. Oary. 

The ;>4n ocrv 



24 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



LAKE VIEW FARM 

of John M. Ketcham is located fourteen miles 
north of Macon and eight miles south of La 
Plata. It is a beautiful tract of smooth prairie, 
of rich black loam soil: is all well fenced with 
board, wire and hedge in twenty to forty acre 
fields, and watered by ponds, springs and wells. 
It is improved with 200 bearing apple trees, a 
beautiful home, superior barns and other out- 
buildings, and is devoted to mixed farming. The 
entire place is under high cultivation. Mr. 
Ketcham gets a large yield of corn, oats and 
wheat, puts up l.W tims of hay, keeps sixteen 
horses, of which half are Clydesdale brood mares: 
twenty-five high grade short horns and a pure 
bred bull: has 400 finely bred merino sheep, 
and ranks with the very best farmers in the 
county. He is a model farmer, owns a model 
farm, and, like all northern men who come here, 
is delighted with the country. The great need of 
this country is hundreds of such farmers as John 
M. Ketcham. In the same neighborhood, is 

THOMAS GILBKEATh's FABM 

of 300 acres, nearly all in a high state of cultiva- 
tion, and watered by wells and ponds. It is 
mostly rich rolling prairie, embraces forty acres 
of timber: is improved with a pretty home and 
good outbuildings: good fences and orchard, and 
is devoted to mixed farming. Mr. Gilbreath 
feeds a car load of heavy pigs, keeps a good 
bunch of high grade cuttle and some good horses, 
and ranks with the thorough, successful farmers 
of the county. He is a native of the county, and 
has improved this fine farm from a wild prairie. 
There is hardly an end of Cue farm..; in this 
county, hundreds of which are worthy a place in 
this Hand-Book, but I have some notes on sev- 
eral of the outlying towns which will be of inter- 
est to the reader. Twenty-one miles north of 
Macon and 188 miles northwest of St. Louis, at 
the junction of the Wabash and the Chicago. 
Santa Fe <t California i Santa Fe) railways, is the 
bright and growing tuAu of 

LA PLATA. 

It is located in the north end of Macon county, 
on the crown of the "Great Divide," in the midst 
of a royal farm region capable of sustaining a 
city of .5,000 souls, and is one of the most pros- 
perous and enterprising towns of its class in 
Missouri. This go-ahead little city has 1,100 
wide-awake and progressive people, and other 

SALIENT FEATURES 

that will be of interest to the reader, among 
which are a healthy and commanding location, 
an ample supply of pure water, plenty of neigh- 
boring coal and timber, six churches, a full rep- 
resentation of the leading fraternities, a post of 
the Grand Army, a live newspaper, a successful 
creamery, an elegant public school house and su- 
perior schools, about twenty-five solid, prosper- 
ous business concerns, a strong bank, fine roller 
process Houring mills, and better still the new 

LA TLATA FAIB ASSOCIATION, 

with its handsome grounds, fine race track, and 
ample buildings. This association will open its 
Maiden Annual Exhibition on the 12th of Sep- 
tembor. and all the indications point to one of 
the most successful occasions of the kind in north 
Missouri. La Plata is one of the strongest trad- 
ing towns in this division of the State. It has 

A ilEAVV ExroBT THAUE 

in fat cattle, pigs, mules, sheep, hay, corn, oats. 



wheat, grass seed and minor country produce, 
and a correspondingly large trade in general 
merchandise, hardware, farm machinery, etc., 
etc., the yearly transactions in all these lines 



Minneapolis and St. Paul, give the town fine fa- 
cilities for trade and mannfacturing. La Plata 
is the centre of one of the best grain and live 
stock districts in Missouri, and must always be 




CUMBE8LAND PBESBYTEaiAS (HrBCH. LA PLATA. 



exceeding niic Niillion dollars. The recent open- 
ing of the new Santa Fe line from Kansas City 
to Chicago has not only doubled its 

KAILWAT FACILITIES, 

but given a wonderful impetus to every depart- 
ment of local business, to real estate values, build- 
ing, etc. Besides this valuable trunk line, with 
its valuable eastern and western connections, the 



a prospering trading point. It is brim full of 
live men, and the outlook for the city is partic- 
ularly promising. A noteworthy feature of the 
town is its newspaper, the La I'lntn llmiie Press. 
one of the livest and brightest country journals 
in Missouri, and a mighty strong factor, too, in 
the growth and welfare of the city. It is edited 
by Chas. N. Mitchell, one of the best newspaper 




OOBDON & OOODING S STOBE AT ATLANTA. 



Wabash, with its SI. Louis and southern connec- 
tions and its connecting lines north to Ottnmwa. 



men in this re^xion. and. I am told, has a very 
liberal patronage. Another feature of interest is 



I 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



TIIK I A II A [ \ M K^I'U^ 

uf Mr. W. 8. Little, a prnctical fruit nud uurHery- 
man of i;ood experience. .Mr. Little hax very 
full Htooks uf all the fruit tree8 and xmaller fruita 
tuited tu this cliinnte and these huIIh. and hax 
built up an enriiible rt-putntiun f>>r honorable 
uiana^eMient of this delicate and oneroux work. 
.Mr. LittU<°!> catalogue einbraccii not only a com- 
plete li?<t of all the valuable .ntandard fruit treex 
and Hinall fruitii of the latitude, but carrieH a 
very fine lixt of shade and ornamental treeii, rare 
plants, shrubs, flowers and indeed everything car- 
ried in the leading nurseries of the older Btates. 
He is also manufacturing building bricks on a 
good scale, and authorizes the statement that 
Macon I'onnty is one of the finest fruit regious in 
the western country. La I'lata is fast taking on 
the air of a business metropolis, and with a group 
of live, progressive town-builders at the helm, and 
her splendid natural and railway advantages, is 



gretful good-by Ut nil the g(K>d people of La 
Plata and Atlanta, we (the reader and 1 1 will take 
a run up the old Hannibal road to 

DBVISU, 

the great coal producing town of Macon Connly 
and North Missouri. It is li»cated five miles west 
of Macon, on the Hiinnibal i St. Joseph Kailwny. 
in the midst of a beautiful woodland and prairie 
country; occupies n fine healthful elevation, and 
has a population of about 12CX): this number 
being considerably increased in the hosier winter 
coal mining season. The entire town is built up 
on the one absorbing industry of ooal mining, 
which is carried to splendid proportions by the 
several operators engaged in the business. The 
town has eight churches, fionrishing i)M Follows. 
Knights of Pythias, Select Knights, and A. I). U. 
\V. lodges, a post of the (irand Army, a score of 
business houses, fine public schools, and a large 
general trade stimulated by the heavy coal pro- 



vast region of country beyond the .Missouri 
River in Kansas and Nebraska. The qaality of 
the ooals mined at this point is e(|Qal to any of 
the bitaminous coals in the Western country, and 
gives them decided favor with consumers. 

THE I.KADINO COAL OI'KBATOBM 

are Messrs. l^ximis i Snively, successors to the 
Old Central Coal Mining Co.. which they bought 
out in IH7H. Their original purchase of mining 
territory, franchises and mines covered proper- 
ties valued at ffiOO.fKIO. They have since in- 
oreaaed their capital stock to fnto.nOfi an in- 
oreasa demanded by the sinking of a new shaft, 
putting in compressed air machinery and Harri- 
son's mining machines, by which their mines are 
now operated. They own and operate the well 
known 

BLACK UIAMOND COAI. MI.VBH, 

numbers 1, H and 4 (views of which are herewith 
given I, and from which sixty car loads of coala 




W. II. Looms' IILACK DIAMOND STOCK FABII, 1 MILB HODTnwBHT OF IIBVIKB. 



destined to become a city of commanding magni- 
tude and importance. K dozen miles north of 
.Macon and nine miles south of La Plata in a 
country rich and fair enoogh for a Flemish gar- 
den, is the village of 

ATLAMTA. 

a pretty town of SCO people, two churches, a 
dozen busineas houses and some of the livest 
business men in Macon, or any other county. 
This little city. to<i. is on the Wabash Railway, 
and represents a farm country, rich enough in 
fine farms, orchards, herds and grninfields to 
take care of a town of lltOO people. Kesidea 
a large and prosperous general trade, the export 
trade in grain, live stock, froit, hay, grass seed 
and kindred products, is large enough to com- 
pliment the average town of \'*)n people. At- 
lanta is a thriving trading town, and with the 
development of the tributary country to its 
maximum, will grow to five times its present 
prop<irli(ms. With a word of thanks and a re- 



daction. The trade in hay, grain and general 
farm produce is anusually heavy for a town of 
this class; bat none of these products are ex- 
ported, all being consumed by the operators and 
miners. The 

SIX OOAL MIHBH 

now being operated at this point employ about 
7(10 men during the summer, and some I'iOtI in 
the more active winter season. There are in all 
seven mines in working shape, the yearly capac- 
ity of which exceeds 

HALF A MILLIOM TOBB 

of eoal. The actual product falls a little below 
these figures, bat is likely at no distant day to be 
carried much above them. 

TBB COAL SUPPLT 

seams practically inexhaastible. The veins now 
being work<-d at a depth of sixty to eighty 
feet, range from four to six feet in thickness, and 
extend well over the neighboring country. The 
product is consumed by the railway and by a 



are daily mined. These three mines have a work- 
ing capacity of UN) car loads, and are run to 
their maximum in the cold season. They em- 
ploy .VK) miners in summer, and a much larger 
force in winter. They ran in connection with 
these mines, three large wholesale and retail yards 
in Kansas City. Atchison and 81. Jitseph, and in 
addition to their f>wn product, handle anthracite 
and other coals, lime, cenii>iit. plaster, hair. etc. 
They have f;l(l.(lOO invested in each of these \ ards 
where they market their surplus ooal after sap 
plying the Hannibal i St. Joe, K. C. St. .). t. C. 
B.. and other railroads. Their shippiti„- trade 
extends well over Kansas and Nebrankn. and is 
steadily extending, both aa to territory and vol- 
ome. They also ran in connection with these 
mines a heavy general merchandise, grain and 
priMluce business, carrying from f:!ii.<Oi to $4fl,- 
min sl<icks. and running their yearly sali-> up to 
$14n,(MII) and $\<tV).OCtn. They also hare a heavy 
trade in "channel ice." taken from the Missis- 



26 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



aippi River, with which they supply the entire 
city. They have. too. an extensive meat market 
with ample cold storage and annually slaughter 
3(K) cuttle, 4O0 sheep, and 700 hogs, most of which 
stock is fattened on Mr. Loomiss " Black Dia- 
mond" farm near the city. Their extensive 
mercantile business embraces every thing in 
local demand, from a paper of pins to a steam 
engine. This department of their business is 
very sDccessfully managed by Mr. LouJ.Loomis, 
a young gentleman of rare executive and mana- 
gerial gifts, and is by a good margin the largest 
mercantile concern in the county. Their mines, 
especially -No. 4, are among the best equipped 
and most elaborately constructed coal mines in 
the Western country. They have under tribute 
to these mines, and in their own right, 2,000 acres 



is steadily growing with the growth of this great 
mining industry, and has a bright future. Four 
miles west of Bevier, on the beautiful Chariton 
Divide, is 

OAI,I,AO, 

a town of 4.">0 people, in the midst of the finest 
tobacco and wheat district in the county. It is 
prettily located and environed with beautiful 
groves, orchards and vineyards; has two churches, 
two fine village schools, a dozen business con- 
cerns, two large tobacco factories for rehandling 
tobacco, and one of the completest roller flour- 
ing mills in the country, managed by that prince 
of good fellows. Mr. W. W. Bricker. Mr. Bricker 
also handles lumber, furniture, grain and live 
stock, and belongs to a group of No. 1 business 
men who are managing the leading lines of 



northward a prosperous Welsh settlement. Like 
Callao and Bevier it has within and around it the 
best elements of enduring thrift and growth. 
There are other small towns in the county, but 
the limits of this Hand Book have already been 
invaded and I must close with 

A WOBD or THANKS 

to gentlemen who have kindly contributed to the 
success of this Hand-Book. To Mr. Theo. Gary, 
the man of all work and no play, to whose 
energy, public spirit and splendid working gifts 
the City and County of Macon are indebted for 
this book and many another generous service 
for their material advancement: to Mr. J. A. 
Hudson, the sterling editor of the Macon Times, 
for no end of good offices in aid of this enter- 
prise; to Mr. F. A. Dessert and to my old and 




I 



STOCK St^EMB NBAB OHABITON RIVEB, MAOON OODNTT. 



of the finest coal lands in the county or State, 
and as a coal mining corporation, rank with the 
aljlest and foremost in the Western States. One 
of the noteworthy features of this notable local- 
ity is 

THE BLACK DIAMOND STOCK FABM, 

n magnificent 800 acre tract of rolling prairie 
and woodland. It embraces f,30 acres of well- 
fenced land, 250 of which is under plow, the bal- 
ance Ijeing in timber; is admirably watered liy 
running streams, wells and ponds, and as the 
view shows is fairly well improved and will be 
further improved by Mr. Loomis with handsome 
buildings, sheds, corrals, fences, ic. until he has 
made it one of the handsomest country places in 
North Missouri. He has the means and taste to 
carry his plans for a beautiful country home and 
stock breeding farm to a splendid issue. Bevier 



trade in this pretty little city. Callao enjoys a 
large and growing export trade in tobacco, 
grain, live stock, railway ties, piling, fruit and 
general farm produce: has never had a boom, 
but is sure and steady as the tides, and has in 
her location and surroundings the elements of 
enduring prosperity. Half a dozen miles beyond 
Callao. to the westward of the Chariton, is 

NEW CAMBRIA. 

another pretty, prosperous town of -tSO people. 
It has several churches, a fine school, a dozen 
business houses, new and very fine roller flouring 
mills, a group of prime good business men, and 
a beautiful tributary country rich in tobacco and 
grain fields, orchards and herds. It is a promi- 
nent shipping point on the Hannibal A St. 
Joseph Railway for railway ties, piles, fruit, hay, 
grain, tobacco and live stock, and has to the 



valued friends Mr. I. C. Stephens and Maj. S. G. 
Brock, for courtesies worth remembering, and to 
all the good people of Macon County, whose 
material aid and encouraging words have minis- 
tered to the success of the Macon County Hand- 
Book, I give my blessing and reluctant good-bye. 

TO THE BEADEB 

in distant lands, who may doubt the correctness 
of the statement of facts herein recorded, and 
mayhap fancies this an over-colored picture of 
the condition, resources and advantages of Macon 
County. I send, herewith, greeting from the 
30,0(X) people of the county, and pledge him in 
their behalf a cordial Western welcome when it 
shall please him to visit and inspect the homes, 
herds, farms, orchards, coal fields and towns of 
one of the fairest and most fertile regions in the 
sunny Southwest. 



i 



MACON COTNTV, MISSOURI. 



•>1 



List of Desirable Wacon County Farms for Sale by Theo. Gary. Macon. Mo. 



No. 1. — 180 >cre(, 3M niil'" f^om Excftlloand 
Jiicksonvlllc, bo'h on the Wab.Tsh R.iilroac1;2 
miles from a flour aiiil saw mill, 2'i miUs from 
church, and \}i milc8 from school. All under 
fence; 00 acre« under cultivation, 40 acres in 
timber well under-brushed and in blue grass; DO 
acres in clover and timothy; cross fenced into six 
different enclosures; fence made of rails and 
barbed wire; 100 bearing apple trees; a well fin- 
ished, well painted ,') room house, with lightning 
roiis; well fenced lawn ; nicat and poultry houses; 
:)8x40 log harn, with frame sheds all round it : 
good grancrv; buildings all frame, except barn. 
Farm finely watered with four living wells and 
running stream. Countv road on one side of farm, 
cutting off pasture. All tillable land, except a 
little along stream. V'ard set in blue grass. This 
is a tine farm, located in a good neighborhood. 

John M. La.mii. 
No. 2 - -A 120 acre farm, (1 miles north of Cal- 
lao; 100 acres in cultivation ; 70 acres under fence; 
good 4 room frame house, good barn, living water 
and good \'oung orchard. Joh.n IIoi-man. 

No. 3. — A 340 acre farm, one mile from La 
Plata, 2',4 miles from .Santa Fe Railway, '/i mile 
from school. A one and a half storv frame house, 
18x36, with a 12x34 addition : a frame harn, 48x48; 
small orchard, and some _\oung fruit trees; cis- 
terns at house and barn; 80 acres in u\radow, 80 
acres in pasture, and after this fall will be all in 
grass. S. ATTERHtRRY. 

No. 4. — A farm of (iT acres; 47 acres in culti- 
vation, 20 acres in timber and pasture; rail and 
wire fence ; three living wells ; one cistern ; a No. 
1 good orchard of apple, pear and peach trees, a 
two story six room frame house, with summer 
kitchen; a frame barn, 30x38 feet, only 100 rods 
from Love Lake, on the Wabash Railway, 100 
yards from church, and I4' mile to a schoolhouse. 

J. B. Avers. 

No. 4'i. — A 200 acre farm, one mile from 
church, 80 lods to schoolhouse; 120 acres in cul- 
tivation, to .-icres in timber, and 70 acres in mea- 
dow ; rail and hedge fence, five living wells, one 
pond, good orchard, two-stor>- eight- room frame 
house, and a bank barn, .VJxGO feet. 

\V. T. Gardner. 

No. 6-— 120 acres, eight miles northeast of Ma- 
con, four miles from Round Cirove, on the II. & 
.St. J. Railroad, and one mile south of La Porte. 
All encloted; 20 acres In timber, 20 acres in 
meadow, post and rail fence, a living well and 
two pondv, 75 bearing apple trees, a four room 
frame house, large 24x60 foot barn; >4 mile to 
church ; 80 rods to school hou^e 

\Vm. Yutx. 

No 6.--207 acres; seven mile- north of Ma- 
con, and one mile from lilackuell .Station, on 
Wabash Railway; 160 acres in cultivation, bal- 
ance in white oak timber. New four room house, 
tMO wells, two ponds, good large orchard, good 
granerv, frame barn, two miles from eliurch, V 
mile from schoolhouse, one and a quarter mile to 
post olTice. Mrs. M.\hy A. TiioMr-soN. 

No 7.— 100 acres, five miles southwest ol 
Itevi.r; .'i4 1 acres in meadow, 30 acres under plow, 
10 acres In pasture. 10 acres In timber. ()n<- »nd 
■■half siorjr frame house, 18x36, with foui iiK>ms 
and cellar, walled up with brick and >lone. and 



fronts south; barn 16x20, with shedding all round 
it; tobacco house 20x22, with sheds on two sides, 
good frame granery and frame summer kitchen, 
poultry- house, corn crib, new cow sheds, a small 
bearing apple orchard, 60 young fruit trees, living 
well and cistern. Farm sub-divided Into four 
iields, and within three miles of three churches. 

P. I. Baker. 
No. 8. 85 acres, seven miles north of Callao. 
and sixteen miles northwest of Macon; 65 acres 
in cultivation, balance in timber; three room 
frame luiiise an. I good out-buildings. 

John W. St. Clair. 

No. 9. 140 acres, 2'j miles northeast ol At- 
lanta; 10 acres in meadow, M6 acres in cultiva- 
tion, 2 acres in old bearing orchard, 38 acres in 
woodland pasture. A 16x32 one story house, 
with a 14x14 addition, log barn, frame smoke 
house, good cistern, living water in pasture. 

W. D. McDlFFEE. 

No 10.-86 acres, three miles south of Be- 
vicr, all underlaid with a five foot vein of coal; 
56 acres in cultivation, balance timber land — all 
under fence except 15 acres. Story- and a half 
log house, weather-boarded, lathed and plastered; 
good out-buildings. Log barn 20x60, with shed 
on south side: good rail fence. 

Jacob .Marte. 

No. 1 1. 140 acres new land, six miles north 
of Callao, and six miles from new .Santa Fc Rail- 
way ; 90 acres in cultivation, 50 acres in timber, 
35 acres in meadow — nil good tobacco or wheat 
land. Good orchard, story and a half house with 
four r ooms, good cistern, four ponds, extra good 
fences. J. E. Wilson. 

No. 12. — 125 acres, three miles south of 
Bevier and seven n.ilcs southwest of Macon, all 
underlaid with five foot vein of coal, and all in 
cultivation except .5 acres of timber; tuo cis- 
terns, a living well, small orchard, good vineyard, 
stort' and a half log house, wit! four rooms, 
weather-boarded and plastered, good cellar, log 
barn 53 feet long, with shed on one side. 

Frei>. Sciiukneciit. 

No. 13. — 60 acres, seven miles southeast of 
Macon ; 40 acres fenced, 20 acres timber, 80 rods 
to church, three-quarters of a mile to school. 

J. E. II V ATT. 
No. 14. -160 acres prairie and limber land, 
six miles north of Callao; 12.5 acres in cultiva- 
tion, 85 acres in timber. Two story six room 
house, cistern, living well, good orchard, farm all 
under fence, and good improvements all round. 

E. C. LoYD. 

No. 15 -'■ Fairvlew" farm of 400 acres, fi\e 
mile* south of Callao; 3.36 acres in cultivation, 
06 acres in timber, all well fenced with plank and 
rails. Fine large two story house, 18x30, with an 
18x20 foot addition, two large frame barns, 
plenty of water, fine meadow— a choice stock 
farm. 

No. 16. 100 acre farm, eleven miles south 
ol Macon, twelve miles north of Moberlv. and 
two mile* from Jacksonville, on Waba»h Rail- 
way ; 140 acre* fencrd Into ten fields and pasture, 
100 acre* under cultivation, 47 acre* in timothy 
clover and red top. Frame house, 18x84, with a 
84x24 addition, five rooms, two porticos, one { 



porch and cellar, all wr. <.<iod frame 

smokehouse, 12x14. and woodhouse, 12x14; poul- 
try house, good new frame barn, 32x42; good 
granery, 12x14; implement house. 10x24; cow 
barn, 30x40; log barn, 20x20, with shed on one 
side; stud barn, 14x14. with shed on one side; 
sheep barn, 18x20. Lawn fenced and garden 
picketed. A number of stock lots. Farm wat- 
ered by four good cisterni', two at house and two 
at barn, live ponds and running ireek. Plenty 
of timlwr to run farm. (iood b<arlng apple 
orchard of 40 trees, also a young orchard Wood 
land underlaid with coal. (io<Mj nrighborhood, 
and a flouring mill within one mile. Reasons for 
selling, old age and incapacity for manual labor. 
Bknja.mix F. Elsea. 
No. 17 -Choice farm in Linn County, Mo., 
for investment and farming purposes, one mile 
from the town of Marcelinc, the new division 
point of the Chicago \' .Santa Fe R. R.- 500 
iicres in the tract— all under fence. Small orchard, 
three good living wells of wa'er, two large ponds; 
water never failing; 60 acres in timothy meadow; 
50 acres seeded to clover; 200 acres fresh land, 
onlv cultivated two years; 160 acres in pasture, 
pretty well set in blue grass; 40 acres pasture 
timothy and clover; 50 acres blue grass timber 
land — timber enough to keep place up; bam 
:t0x40, frame, new shingle roof; small house, not 
much value. Soil on entire tract extra good; no 
level or hard pan on it. Linn County is out of 
debt, and taxes very low; 100 miles from Kansas 
City. The town of Marccline was only laid out 
about ten days ago, and already over 1,000 lots 
sold; i« sure to make a town of from 5,000 to 
10,000 inhabitants. This tract of land tan be had 
for $50 per acre one-third down, balance in pay- 
ments to suit the purchaser, at six per cent, 
interest. Would prefer p,iyments after first in 
$l,000'paymei ts annually until paid for. 

No. 18. 341) acres; one and a-half miles north 
of Love Lake, on the Wabash Railway ; 170 acres 
in cultivation, balance in limber and pasture. 
Farm all fenced and watered by creek, well*, 
spring and [tonds. Good bearing orchard of 100 
trees; good st<iry and a-half frame house and 
good outbuilding; log barn, I!<x24. lour miles 
from La Plata, one mile to schoolhouse, h.ll a 
mile tochurch. John M. Kktciiam. 

No. lO — A 360 acre farm, six miles from At- 
lanta; all fenced and in cultivation. .\ choice 
prairie farm, with good seven room frame houte, 
two frame barns, one 30x,50 and the other 3<ix42. 
Good orchard of seventy bearir.g trtc-s, go<id stock 
well with wind-mill, also large I'ond with pipe 
tank and float, and slocted with (ieinian carp. 
One third of farm in oats and corn, balance in 
meadow and pasture. Half a m:le from church, 
one and a quarter mile* to school. One ol the 
best farms in county. Orla Skuw. 

Nu. '20. .\ 200 acre farm; two and a-half 
■lilies from Macon. Subdivided into forty and 
eighty acre lots One story five room house; 
large fra-re barn. Farm fenodwith rails and 
wire. Large pond stocked with (German carp, 
and one cistern. .Ml in meadow and pasture, 
except sixteen acrr ' *• I stock farm. 

F. K. Wilcox. 

No. '21. T< n aLrc.>, ^illlated in the suburbs 
of College Mound, one story six ro<prii frame 
house, small orchard A wil. iiiipro\id place 
with good barn and other outbuiltiings. 

(> C. Reiiii 



28 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



OLIVER HOTEL, 

12 Rooms, situated on Hannibal & St. Joseph R. 

R. Lower Story used for a General Store. 

House in good repair. Can be bought 

on reasonable terms. Address, 

CALLAO, MO. 
GLAYBROOK BROS. 



FRED. NICHOLS &. BRO. 

Hardware, StoYes and Agricultural 

NEW CAMBRIA, MISSOURI. 



IlKALKRS IN 



EenEral MErchandisE 



OK KVEKY DESCKIPTION. 



Large Stocks, Low Prices, Quick Returns 

.\NU S.MAI,L PltOFlTS. 



OA.IjrjA.O, IWtlSSOXTR-I. 

C. H, MARMADUKE, 

Druggist and Apothecary, 

PERFUMERY 
AND TOII.KT AKTICLES, 

OALLA.O, MO. 



W. W. BRICKER, 

LUMBER 

— AND — 

Furniture Dealer. 



Owns a Half Interest in Ihc 

CALLAO ROLLER MILLS, 

CALLAO, - MISSOUlil. 



J. H. WRIGHT & CO. 



1 1 F \ I I R > IN' 



EEOEral MErchanilisE 

Wl; CAKKV 

laeqe stocks of everything in 
Obnbral. Demand, 

AND 

SELL CHEAPER than the CHEAPEST. 
LAWRENCE CRIST, ~ 

Staple and Fancy Groceries 

AND FANCY ARTICLES, 
C!A.I_iIjA.O. li^ISSOXJR,!. 



JONES Sc COLE, 

General Merchants 

HANDLE ALL CLASSES OF 

General Merohandise, Country Prodnoe, Live Stock, &o., &c. 
NEW CAMBRIA, - MISSOURI. 

F. W. PURCELL, 

The Leading Photographer, 

33 ROLLINS ST., MACON, MO. 

No Speciaitlex. Alt Work done in the Higliext Style 
ol tlie Art. 



W. H. FEAGANS, 

GeiieralClaiMilFniApt. 



Old Soldiers, their Widows and Orphans, or any- 
body interested in Claims against 
the Government, 

1'lea.se; call and skk jmjk. 

MACOX, MO. 

L. T. HT^IL-. 
Tlie !Pliotogi'a})lier 

21 & 23 ROLLINS ST., MACON, MO. 

Tie Large.-!, Be.U Ei/uif'f'ed Studio in Nortli Uis.^oitri. 
Children'.-: Pictures a Specialty. 



MILAM & MILLER, 

piiysicians and §urgeons, 
MACON, MO. 

ED. B. CLEMENTS, 
[ bysiGian and ourgeop, 

MACON, MO. 



N. S. RICHARDSON, 

Bl^ysiciayancl Surgcoi^ 

MACON, MO. 



GARY'S 

ADDITION! 



Lots in this Beautiful Addition, so 

eligibly situated to the City of 

Macon, have just been put 

on the market at 

less than 

One-Third their Real Value 

And on Terms within the Reach 
of all. 

Situated in the North part of the City, 

Within live minutes walk of the 
Post Office, the principal street 
leading to the Addition Macadam- 
ized to within one block, with the 
Streets and Alleys nicely Graded 
throughout, there is bound to be 
considerable outcome co this prop- 
erty. To 

TH(.)SK WHO .M<i: \\ rniori' ho.mhs 

Now is the Time to Buy. 

High and Dry, Located right in the Oireclion of 
the Growth of the Citv, plenty of Good Living 
Water can be had at a depth of Twenty Feet, the 
extremely Low Price 

These Cots will be gold at. 

And the Easy Terms, when all the advai lages 
are considered, this opportunity may 

Not be Offered Again in 
A Life-Time. 

Or"A Number of these Lots have been Sold. 
J^'For full Particulars, Plats and Terms, see 



aiACON, MO. 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



29 



E. O. SNOW & CO. RUTHERFORD & MITCHELL, D. D ROWLAND &. BRO., 

DryGoods and Clothing Attorneys at Law. Dnigs and Hardware, 



Hats, Caps, Boots, Shoes, 
Groceries, Notions, 

And Everythlnic In the line of Oeneral Merchandise. 

ATLANTA, MO. 



V. n rmeiMi^. 



A n, iHirtf»|i|Nr, 



Practice in State and Federal Courts. 
Make collections, examine and perfect 
titles. Real Estate Law ,-i specialty. 

LA PLATA, MO. 



GORDON &. GOODDING, 

(Succeuon to J. H. Btbcock,) 



hKM.I.RS IN 



General Merchandise, 

INt H lllNi. 

Staple and Fancy Dry Goods, Millinery, 

Clothing, Boots, Shoes, 
Notions, Gents' Furnishing Goods, eti. 

ATLANTA, MO. 

CX3C.A.S. OSBOI^iTE, 

City Livery Feed & Sale Stables. 

IIor»cs boanled by the tliiy, week or month, on rcason- 
.it>le terms. 



(HxidtcAnis and careful ilriver-i 
Commercial trude Aolicitcd. 



ATLANTA. MO. 



J . B. SPENCER, 

Farm Machinery Implements 

Wagons, Carriages, 
"311 Buggies, Surreys, etc. 
Lari;e Stock and Lowest l*rk*es 

LA PLATA, MO. 

LA PLATA HOME PRESS 

A Live Newspaper, representing a live city. 
CHAS. N MITCHELL, Ed. & Pub. 



Painters' S\ipplies, 
Olass, I='-uitt3r, etc., etc . 
BEVIER, MO. 

A. 1 ). aOODAI.E, 

^^— liRALKH I.N 

Groceries and Queensware. 

COFFINS AND CASKETS 

In aJJ. Sizes and. 0-rad.es. 
BEVIER, MO. 



BEVIER 



v*^ 



The Leading Coal Mining Town 
in Central or North Missouri. 



J. W. rations Adjustable Ratchet Bar and Bracket Store Shelving. 




A Few Facts Why You Should Use'My Adjustable Shelving irons. 

No more bilU ol M or 100 dolUra to pev rvrry lime you went to make a chence in your ftbclvinK. the only pcrtcctly ailjuttab:' 
cvtrr n,rH ff>r tt.w^,. lit'mrir,. p,nfflr*. rl.*,**t.. ►ww>J(.r«.r.. rher*^ lerlorir.. rlr ihr, can h.- pat op. taken down, or chenifed to ■, ■, 



h.' 



lullot • . 

ng Estim. 

■ b.>«e Ui«e «hrit, titcT are :{ feet lonK- should you 
shelf txMri] .itui are put ei|rht feet AptuX, hrarkrt. ai< 

PRICE LIST: <■ 

KrackcK. I"- Ji "i' li "'J 
To responttble pert* 
myeKoen*- I euerente* ».■■.»* , •■.,'■ ■■, .-.- , ^■^■% • ■■ - ,.^.1 
BE ACCOMPANIED BY THE CASH OR ITS EtjUIVALENT. 



.; rver invented, the lic»t 

■ I ftnw^ and o -^ <ner the 

' frecn 

r of 



top 
kr««. 



nrh 

•v. 

'lal 

. T MUST 



Addrr*.. J. W. PATTON, Solo Manufacturer,!MACON CITY, MO., U. S. A. 



30 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



FIRST NATIONAL BANK, 

MACON, MO. 

CAPITAL M SURPLUS, $60,000,00. 

J. H. BABCOCK. President. 

JNO. SCOVERN, Cashier. 



directors: 

J.No. H. Babcock, S. G. Wilson, Jno. Scovern, 
Chas. D. Sharp, Jas. G. Howe. 



MACON, MO. 

Capital Stock, - - $25,000.00 

OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS: 

E.J. Demeter, President, II. Vandebeko, VicePns., 

Dl'sto.v Adams, Cashier. 

T. F. Owens, W. H. Terhill. 



T. L. THOMPSON, 

Paiitiir Hi Paper Haier, 

AND DEALER IN ALL KINDS OF PAPER HANGINGS, 
MACON, MO. 

GKO. r>. RETCHEr.. 

HARNESS ^'SADDLERY. 

Rest Goods. I.o\vcst Prices. Satisfaction Guaranteed. 

John E. Eldridge, Manager. 

Rubey Street, - - MACON, Mo. 

JOHN • TV^T^VeR, 



wholesalc and retail dealer in 



Hardware, Glassware and Crockery, 

Rochester Lamps, Cutlery, Tinware, 

Iron, Steel and Wood Wagon 

Materials. 

MACON, - - Missouri. 

FRANK E. WILLIAMS, 

Jobber and Uetail Dealer in 

BOOTS AND SHOES, 

iTo. 22 I^olliiis Street, 



MACON, 



Missouri. 



R. N. ECCLESTON & CO. 

I • h \ 1 1 i<> I \ 

STAPI.H AND FANCY GROCHRIHS, 

O-letss aj3.5. Tlaa. w a .re. 
Headquarters for l*'I«Mir, Feed ami Country Produce. 

MACON, .... Missouri. 



\V. T. GILBREATH. Pres't. WM. J. BIGGS, Cishicr. 
E. M. GATES, Ass't Cashier. 

La . Plaha . Savings . Banl^, 



DtRECTORS. 

W. T. GiLBREATii, E. M. Gates, W. J. Biggs 

J. Gates, J. SI. Ikvinc, A. S. Rav. 



A. D. gash. 



CORRESPONDENTS. 

American Ex. National Bank, New York, 
First National Bank, Chicago. 

Boatmen's Saving Bank, St. Louis, 

National B'k of Kansas City, Kansas City, Mo. 



VISIT 



MITCHELL & FISHER'S 

TRADE . PALACE, 

Where you will tint! a full and complete line of 

DRY GOODS I NOVELTIES. 



We offer the best stock of Dress Goods. The largest 
and best assortment of Dress Silks, and the finest line of 
Silk, Plush and Velvet. The best assortment of Cloaks, 
Wraps and Shawls. Underwear in every style and qnaUly. 
Hose of all kinds. Gloves in endless variety. Trimmings, 
Luces, Ruchinp and Collars. 

We carrv a very large line of Staples. Vou should not 
fail to see' us for Clothing, Hats and Caps, Boots and 
Shoes, Trunks and Valises. 

MITCHELL & FISHER, 
West Side. La Pl.\ta, Mo. 

SURGEON - DENTIST, 

LA PLATA, MO.. 

The Latest Iinprovements for Extracting Tectli. 

JJ^New Sets Teeth made on Reasonable Terms. 

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED. 

Call on Dabney & Baity, "Tlie Jewelers/' 

Kor Bargains. Watchc.«, ClcK-ks, Jewelry, Silverware, 
Platedware, Spectacles. Alt sold at bottom prices, and 
engraved free. Special attention gi\en to repairing. 

West Side Square, La Plata, Mo. 

Agents for Uockford U. K. Watches. 

J. J. SWARTHOUT, 

THE WEST SIDE 

GROCERY and PROVISION MERCHANT, 



LA PLATA, 



Missouri. 



DRY GOODS 



Tlie Ri-li:il>li- an<; Justlv Popular Firm of 

GOODOING, WILLIAMS & WAIT, 

On the South Side, arc now preparing 
to receive their 

GREAT FAIR STOCK, 

Which will be Complete and Simply Immense in every 
department for the early Fall Trade. 



.\. F.. CUNNlNtillAM. 



GASH & CUNNINGHAM, 



- DF M tlKi l.N — 



DrttEs, PaiDls, Oils, Wall Paper, 

BOOKS, STATIONERY, 
To.-v'.".* jiiKl FsiiK-.'v- Goocls. 

LA PLATA, MO. 



L. A.. th:omt»sot<j, 

— DKALEK IN — 

Drugs, Paints, Oils, Varnislies, Toilet Articles, 

KTC. KXC". 
1. W. WILLIAMS, Manager. LA PLATA, MO. 



Wc Always Have a full slock, but will excel in this 
prosperous year 1^88. For 

DRY eOUDS, BOOTS, SHOES, HATS, CAPS, 
CL0TH1N(J .VM> 

Or anything in our line, vou will find it to your advan- 
tage to come and see us. 

jy BRING US YOUR PRODUCE. "*t 

Goodding, Williams & Wait, 
South Side Square. LA PLATA, Mo. 



J. T^. iRviisrca-, 

— DKALER IN - 

A'MBER&iUMLDING MATERIALS 

Buys Grain and F'ield Seeds. 

Stock of Lumber kept up to the demand of ihc times. 

LA PLATA. MO. 



J.C.DONEGHYl^BRO., 



' DEALEBS IN ' 



Srti Soodd, Kotion^, 

- CXOTHING, - 

Gents' Furnishing Goods. 

— ALSO — 

G-roceries and Furniture. 

LA. PLATA, TtlO. 

SEARS & SEARS, 

Wholesale .mil Kclail Dealers in 

©rmgs, Books 

- - STATIONERY, - - 
Paints, Oils, Wall Paper, 

DRUGGISTS' SUNDRIES, FINE CUTLERY, 

GrlasiS, Notions, Fancy Groods, 

Gigars, *robaccos, 

STAPLE AND FANCY GROCERIES. 
LA PLATA, MO. 



La Plata Livery, Feed and Sale Stable, 

Fine Turnouts. Reasonable Prices. 

FAIB I'LAY FOB EVEBYBODY. 

LA PLATA, - - Missouri. 



POST OFFICE JEWELRY STORE. 

JEWELRY, 'watches AND CLOCKS, 

8-lv^rwa e. Diamonds, 1 aocy Ooods, Etc. 
LA PLATA, - Missouri. 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



81 



Hannibal-Saw- Mill- Co. 

A.J. McCANNE, Manager. 

LemliBr, SIIeeIbs, Lalli, Doiirs, 

BLINDS, MOULDINGS, 
CEMENT, HAIR, etc., etc. 

Kolliiis Slnt-t, South Sitli' KallroiKl, 
MACON, MO. 

SHERMAN HOTEL 

AMP — 

Lunch Room, 

Cor.AVeod & KollinsSts., 

MACON, MO. 

J. H. HAUN, Proprietor 



1 I \ [ M' 1 -, 



Groceries, Provisions, etc. 

Highest Market Prices paid for 
Country Produce. 

No. 39 Rollint St., oppo>ile PaUce Hotel. MACON, MO. 

Wholesale and Retail Grocer 



\ M ' I ' ► M I-: II IN 



Flour, Salt, Provisions, Cl^a's, Tobacco, 
Powder, Shot, etc. Macon, Mo. 

JOHN T. CELLHAUS, 

Dealer In Staple and Fancy Groceries, 

Queensware, Tinware and Glassware, 

The Best Brands of Flour •i"i.»« <>" ii..ml. 

Special Inducement* Ottered to Large PurctiaB«r>, 

C\*tacf ut V'lnciuttl Kubcy Sl».. MaCOn, Mo. 



SCRUTCHFIELD & BRC, 

Livery, Feedand Sale Stables. 

Buyand Sell Horses and Mules. 
Finest Turnouts in the City. 

iiourke Street* 
MACON, MO. 



WHITE (& COX, 

.A-ttcme^rs at IL.a.'^jT; 

MACON, MO 

f>rrt( B ovm M \m uss ^T..K^. N.i \H Vine SmKar. 
• IQO.OOO to Loan. 

All Sum* of t2oO OO and Upwardi at the Low Rata of 

6 par cent 

MRS. CEO. A. COULTER, 

fashionable TW'llinery Qoods 
MACON. MO. 



IT. I I . 1 )( >\\ X I X( .■ 

Vhs LisacdiriP 
• C L O T H I E R f 

MsTGhant Vailor, 

— AKIi — 

Gsnts' Furnisher, 
Suits Made to Order on Short Notice. 

No. 8 Vine St., MACON, MO. 



ISA^C QROSS, 



— nFAI.ER IN — 



Ccnfccticncric.>, 

Sta] )le and Fane V Groceries, 

Fi'uits, Vegetables. 
<Jij[i:ai's and Tobaceos. 
Rollins Street, MACON, MO. 



\V. C. BELSHE. 

— DKAI.RR I.N — 

Dry (loods, (lotlilii::. Notions, 

Hats, Caps, Boots, Shoos, 
Trunks, Valises, etc., etc 
Cor. Rollins \ Uoiirke Strt-fts, .Macen, Mo. 

ADAM r.wlN.NlH. ( HKl.S. rttlTVCIf. 

GWINNER & FRITSCH, 

Groceries, Provisions 

Flour, Feed and Salt. 
Kube) Strt'et, - - - • . Muroii, Mo. 

SAVE YOUR MONEY. 

(»o to the Sccoiul-llaiiid Store! 

From 25 to SO per cent, saved on 

A! Kinds of Goods. 

Fiirnitiirt<, Cliilliiim', StuteN, KddIm tc Shoes, 

Hals iinil Ciip't. ('ar|i<-ti, Ojl-Clotlis, 

CrtM'krr) uiiil (,la-.»«arc W'atrlics, ('liii-kn, 

Jpnrlr) of all kinds, .Miisjcal liistriniifnls, 

Trunk!*, tiiiiis, I'istuls. UuftglcM and 

Spring WafconH, 

In fact. EVEUVTmM. •.!...! . f.Mi.I, .,r i.ulM.l ,al could 

uftc or (lecire. ^ - vali » 

and arc retailril '. .v (or 

them. When '^ ili ■'\l»- 

HAND .STORE. c. F Sauvinett, Prop. 

.1. II. ?<'rT* A I II..M .VN >. 

The IJjiker and ( ont'eetioner. 



Palace Hotel 



ONLY FIRST-CLASS HOTEL 



In the City. 



IScllins St., ^wTacon, 3s^c. 



J. J. FITZGERALD. Proprietor. 



SE]ITZ, 



LEADING 

Livery, Feed and Sale Stable. 

HORSES AND MULES 
Bought and Sold. 



FINEST TURNOUTS 

At Reasonable Prices. 

Carriage to and from .All Iniiiis. 

MACON, MO. 



Cm AlTOBMST. NOTABT PUBLIC. 

TV-\r. r». TTKACII. 

Spccialliet: (.nlli. tiun>, .M>,|n<rt< of Title, Real EaUle 
Trantaclionft. Kcprcbcnt* Duo .V i <> '« Arency, Ruod*t 
Cooinirrcial Agency, HubbcU'* l-ex.*! l^irrciory, etc . ale 



|-N< .l-H I* I ' >H 



W M. JONES. 

I'HALKH I.V AU. lUIIDS or 

.\urRultiiral Implements 



MACON. MO. 



Vienna. ]Ba.k.©ry. 

MACON. MO. 

W. J. WRIG-HT, 

iMf>rMiiTnii r>» thr 

PalacEGrncEryHnusE 

Queensware, Cla8Sware,T in ware 
Wholpnalr Di-slem in I'lour, Ke«l,elc 

\\l...:f »ale .Vieent. (iir thr C>Icl>r«trJ rilUt>urt FI,.,jr 
Eilr.1 Fine F1--UT 4 Spcci.»lt». 

40 ud 43, oar. Balllai aad Bavka Sta., ladar Palaea Hatal. 
MACON MO. 



E. W. IVXAGINUS Jk CO., 

I>BAI EMS IN 

Sttiple and Fancy Groceries, 

Flour, l*rovi*i(»n», C ri> krrv Ware, \\ i..'ii\ W ifr --r. . clc. 
Choice Tc** «nJ (.'wflcr* a S[m-ciaII^ . 

17 Vine St., MACON, MO. 

Pianos, Organs and Sewing Machines. 

Gbabnal Agk*«t roH 
ESTSY ORt;AV ind SINGER SFWINO MACHINE. 

Rubey Street, MACON, MO. 



Palace Mu^ic Hcux 

BaAMCH orrira ram tiik 

Celebrated Kimball Organs. 

Also Emerson, Hallet A. Davis and Kim- 
ball Pianos. Come and see mo and buy 
direct. No middle men. All goods at 
manufacturers' prices, on easy payments 
or for cash. GEO. O. STACY 

MACON. MO. Manacar Northeait Missouri 



32 



MACON COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



T>. H^IL, 



The. Only Exclusive Dry Goods and Carpet House in Macon. 

We cater to the best trade onl3\ We buy only the hitest and best goods. We carry the largest stock 
of Dry Goods and Carpets in Macon County. We sell for one price only, and to cash buyers who want to 
receive value for your investments. We ask you to visit our store, or write for samples for comparison or 
selection. Respectfully, J. D. HAIL, 20 Rollins St., Macon, Mo. 



1S60 - - ISSS 



I. C STEPHENS, THE Veteran Clothier, Leads the Town, 

With the par excellent stock of Men's, Boys' Jiiid Children's Fasliionable Clothing, Hats, Caps, 
and Gents' Furnishing Goods. Also a tirst-class Merchant Tailoring Department, where he will 

execute orders for special suits on short notice, and will give you Taste, Style and a Magic Fit. 

This is Headquarters for the Best Goods and the Lowest PriceS. A cordial welcome and polite 

attention to all. It will pay you to call on I. C. STEPHENS, the One-Price Clothier, No. 18 Rollins St., MACON, MO. 

And, STEPHENS A SIPPLES, Chillicothe. 



JOHN H. GRIFFIN, 

Bal^state,fioaii & InsuraDce 
Notary Pu])lic & Al)stractor. 

Collections Promptly Attended to. 
Correspondence Solicited. 

ROLLINS STREET. NEAR COURTHOUSE. 



GEO. P. RICHEL, 

The Monster 

Save Your Dollar 
Furniture & Coffin Man 

— OF — 

MACON, MO. 



S. J. WILSON, 

■<|nAuranee Mq^ntr 

FIRE, 

LIFE, 

ACCIDENT, 

TORNADO. 

Only FIRST-CLASS Companies Represented. 
Office, No. 18 Vine St., AAACON, MO. 

Douo. Smith. Jim Howb. 

SMITH & HOWE, 

The "Live and Let Live Grocers." 

RdLLiNs St., opi'iisiTE Palace Hotkl. 

Motto: Low Prices, No. 1 Goods, Fair Dealing. 

TWoneij* to Coan 



•TOHTV CROARKIIN, 



— ' DEAUEK IN — 



Staple and Fancy Groceries, 

FLOrR, FEED .\ND SALT. 
Also carries full line of uaEENSW ARK. 

Cor. of Rubey & Bourke Sts., Macon, Mo. 



J. J. TDATVIS, 

PEAI.J-H IN 

Eggs, Butter, Hides, Tallow, Feathers. 

MACON, MO. 



Dealer iu Hardware, Stoyes and Tinware. 

RooAng', Guttering' :ind Spouting promptly attended to. 

Vine St., MACON, MO. 



LONDON & HICKS, 

Financial Agents for Eastern Capitalists. 
Have nn iinlimitod supply of 



J. m:. ttjronkr. 

Dealer in All Kinds of Fresb'and Salt Meats, 

FRESH FISH .-VI-WAYS ON HAND 

Rubey St., Macon, Mo. 

JOHN F. KI-A-KL, 

Carpenter and Contractor, 

ROLLINS ST., MACON, MO. 



M. S. GORDON. 



J. w. MCCANNK. 



Gordon & McCanne, 



. DKALKRS IN - 



LOANABLE CAPITAL. 

Buy and Sell Real Estate BUGG1ES,C.'VRRIAGES 

Farm and Spring Wagons, 



HA-VK A. 

COMPLETE SET OF ABSTRACTS 

•To All Lands in the County. Cor- 
respondence Solicited. 

MACON, MO. 



FARM MACHINERY, 

(irain and Grass Seeds, and SHppers of 

Cattle and Hoers. 

Make a Specialty of Agricultural imple- 
ments. Special Attention given to Repairs. 

Rubey Street, South Side R. R., 
MACON, MO. 



MOUNTAIN 



1 I I 



SOLID TRAINS WITH 

Pullman Buffet * 
* Sleeping Cars 

DAILY TO EL PASO, TEX. 

Where the onlv Change U made to 

San Francisco. 

SAME E(^l IPMKNT TO HOl'STON 

<!ir (iALVESTON. THK ONLY 

LINE TO AISTIN ANU 

SAN ANTONIO. 

Close Connection at Marshall, 
Texas, for New Orleans, and at 
Malvern, for the Famous Hot 
Springs of Arkansas. 

TWO TRAINS DAIl.^' 'IT) 

# ST. LOUIS, # 

WITH PULLMAN BUFFET 

SLEEPING CARS. MAKING 
Direct Connection at Poplar Bluff for 



'W^M. H. GOODDING, 

Staple and l-aiicv (Groceries. Moiir, Feed and Provisions, 

COR. BOURK AND ROLLINS STS., - MACON, MO 

..1 111-. iiMi Cnllforhlfl |lv..j>..r nc-l .m.t can ttoodft. 



NUkc tt SfH:ci.tlt« fi tl .-h 



HABERMANN &. SOLDAN, 



i>r \i »fl^ IN 



L-U7V^BER. SHINCL-ES. L-I7V^E. BTC, 

Yard, South Side of Railroad, - MACON, MO. 



I'^r^ici). w. (tIEssklma X X. 

V\Z7^TCH7V\7=^I<eR 7XISD JEV\ZEL-ER. 

Dealer In Diamonds. Fine Gold and Silver Watches. Clocks and Jewelry. 



13 VINE STREET, 



MACON. MO. 



R. M. J. SHARP & SON, 

STAPLE AND FANCY DRY GOODS, NOTIONS, HTC. 

We make .1 iip«ri;ilty of everythiiiK in <>ur line. VINE STREET, MACON, MO. 

'- "■ ^^■"■-•-- WILLIAMS & WOOL0RI06E. J- w. xvooiiir.Doi 

I^ EGISTK l^ E r> PH A I^ M AC I STS. 

"wide Awtike" Druggists of MACON, Missouri. 

S,i«cial attention Kiven to C'ompoun'liii^ Prescriptions. I'urc Wines .inil l.iauor> £t>r Mctlic.il I*urpofte«. Imported Kcr 
West Cij^rs. We sell T. II. Jarkson.V Co.'s Common Sense Liniment. Mnfii. al Qiiincy, III.; (.ar^re Ifi ot. bottler, $1.00. 

JOE. J.if^EO^iE^ 

t ' I M I l< 1 -. 

Hardware, Sloyes -^ Agricnllnral Implements 



xsGc. i.eee. 

E. J. DE7VTETER. 

VVholc»alc und ReUil 



u 
ar 

< 

z 



stoyei 



g- HARDWARE. STOVES AND TINWARE. 



ANO X <■.•■ 



'^^H^ 



jJJ House Furnishing Goods, • • 

Iron, Steel and Wagon Lamps, 
• • China and Glassware Stock. 



Folders descriptive of the C'oiin- 
I! V, with sectional and coiintv 
Maps, givinjj time. etc.. will be 
cheerfully furnishetl by the com- 
pany's agents, or by addressing 

H. C. T0WN8END. 



EMPIRE LUMBER CO., 

LUMBER. DOORS. WmOOW BLINDS. 

A. U SiioHTmrM.K, Buulli S de H. 4 8t. J R R 
' MiMigCT. MACON, Mo. 

H. 8l H. W. DONEGHY, 

I . I't,.,- I>. ,lr- I • 1 

DRY GOODS. •'• •'• 
CLOTHING. 
■r t- BOOTS ^'^ SHOES. 



34-36 Rollins St., MACON, Mo 



; KAi » M IS 

DIAMONDS, WATCHES and CLOCKS, 

.Jewelry. Etc.. 
5 Vine Street. - MACON. Mo. 



T. Xj. THOIvIFSOIT, 



'•> Al I H IN 



Large Stock and Plenty of I)a\ 

Light in our I louse. wj- /-^ i 

»,. Ti,> B.iidt M. 6 ¥,n, St. . MACON , jfo. W 1 H CJ O W GIRSS t" 

'4. and Wall Paper 



J. w. «r»t> T. «. wnnoM 

REED & WISDOM, 

H ■ . \ I 



(G. P A: T. A.) 



ST. LOUlS. 



MARBLE AND GRANITE DEALERS. *'" P*"*^" *ND paper hanger. 

Rolllna 8tr«M, - - MACON, Mo. rt=lllrLo St.. IvX-A-OOiT, 2^o. 







xHe iAiKBHSH iA^esxeRN RKILAa^HY 

niS sreat system comprises 1,U7 miles of magnificent steel rail tracks, over COO miles of which is in the State of Missouri, 
forming a Grand Trunk Line between its principal cities. Starting from St. Lonis, tiie greatest gate way on the .Mississippi, 
the Wahash Wksteks penetrates the garden of Missouri in a most direct manner, running through its magnificent gram and 
coal fields to its western border, linking together the Greatest Commercial Centers of the West. 

Every division of this great system is a "Through Car Line," with the Finest Equipment in the country. The Waisash 
\Vkstei;n runs Three Daily Trains between St. Louis and Kansas City ; Two Daily Trains between St. Louis and Omaha and Two 
Daily 'J'hrough 'J'rains between St. Louis, Ottumwa, Des Moines and St. Paul. All these Through Fast Trains are models of 
elegance and comfort. No Second Chi.-^s Trains are run. Emigrants and home seekers are carried on the Fastest Express 
Trains. The Wahash Western is the "Short Through Car Line" to all points in Central and Northern Missouri. Bear 
this in mind and whetiier destined to, or through, Missouri, be sure your ticket reads, via St. TtODIS and the Wabash W'estehk K'y. 
Any Ticket Agent in the United States will furnish you information in reference to, and sell Tickets at Low Rates, via this Popular 

Through Car Route. „ * , » 

CHAS. W. HAYS, CenM Manager. C. S. CRANE, A. C. P. & T. A. F. CHANDLER, C. P. A T. A. 

ST. XjO-CTIS, 2s^ISSO"Cr3R,I. 



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